Train derailed, power cut

Nathan Crombie | 24th July 2009

Storm winds cut power to 4000 Wairarapa customers and a mudslide derailed a train and stranded hundreds of commuters bound for the region yesterday.

About 300 Wellington to Wairarapa passengers and commuter staff escaped injury and were bussed to their destinations after the train struck a major mudslide in heavy rain while exiting a tunnel at Maymorn north of Wellington, Ontrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said last night.

The locomotive and first carriage derailed on impact and commuter services on the line were cancelled this morning while the tracks were cleared and the stricken machinery was righted.

Alan Roy, Carterton resident and passenger in the first carriage, said last night he and fellow commuters were thrown forward against seatbacks as the slip was struck.

He said there was no panic as the guards calmed passengers and directed them to intact carriages.

"We didn't really plough in to the slip directly but there was mud covering almost everything up front and the locomotive was definitely thrown right off the tracks - it was on a 70-degree tilt. Our carriage was on quite an angle too but not as severe," he said.

"It was raining solidly at the time and there a lot of water in the tunnel.

Adrian Harbison, a Masterton resident and passenger in the third carriage, said last night he walked forward through the tunnel to view the derailment up close after receiving "quite a jolt" along with fellow commuters as the locomotive struck the mudslide.

"The engine was buried in mud and way off the tracks and the first carriage was covered in some parts up to the windows. The slip was massive," he said.

The Rimutaka Hill road was opened about 8pm after slips had forced a closure and the last of the passengers arrived home in Masterton about 11.30pm.

The storm also wreaked havoc on electricity supplies in Wairarapa with gales toppling trees and briefly cutting power to about 4000 customers from Masterton to Castlepoin yesterday.

Powerco network operations manager Phil Marsh said "extremely high winds" brought down trees and branches on to high voltage lines and cut power to substations at Tinui and Awatoitoi shortly before 4pm.

He said power was restored to most customers almost immediately and a remaining 40 customers were back on the grid by 8pm.