Wellington train crash: Investigators begin work at site

Investigators have been working through the night and morning at the scene of a train derailment in Wellington, trying to determine what happened.

Residents reported hearing a huge thunderous boom about 7:20pm on Saturday, between Box Hill and Khandallah stations and emergency services rushed to the scene.

Police said six people were injured and taken to hospital by ambulance, while Wellington Free Ambulance told RNZ four people had minor injuries, and two people were in a serious condition on Saturday night.

A reporter at the scene on Sunday morning said a bunch of workers in high visibility gear were working throughout the scene.

The wreckage was confronting to see in the daylight, she said: "It is completely crumpled at the front, it appears to have hit a concrete buffer which has popped off a door on the side and it's sort of up on a track behind a bunch of houses.

"It has headed onto a separate track from the main line... and it has hit a large concrete buffer... it's a thick piece of concrete, so it'd certainly stop the train in its tracks."

It was raining heavily in Wellington when the crash happened.

KiwiRail chief metro officer David Gordon said work was under way to find out the cause of the "gut-wrenching" incident.

• Six injured in Wellington train derailment between Box Hill, Khandallah

"Firstly, thoughts go out to those people [involved] ... even if they are not hurt, they'll be in some form of shock I would imagine."

One of the injured was the train driver, who hit his head in the crash.

Gordon said the collision happened where double tracks merged into single tracks. The train had come to rest against a block of concrete designed for that purpose.

"It's still standing upright but its wheels are off the tracks."

Metlink said all trains on the Johnsonville line would be replaced by buses until further notice, and passengers should allow extra time for travel.

The crashed train would not be moved until the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) and New Zealand Transport Agency investigators had been on site.

Gordon said he was not sure how people were injured but said the train would have been moving at some pace before braking.

"If you were standing up, you would have been thrown forward; if you're sitting down ... I don't know."

He said he would "like to get to the bottom" of the incident soon.

Chief investigator at the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) Louise Cook said investigators began working at the site overnight and would like to hear from any witnesses.

"Getting information is vital so we're keen to hear as soon as possible from people who were on the train or who saw the accident occur. We're especially interested in receiving photos or videos."

Jo Hosie, who saw the aftermath, rushed to the scene after finding out her friends were on the train.

She saw multiple people injured.

"We've seen them all getting carted to the ambulance on the stretchers and that," Hosie said.

A commenter on a Wellington social media page said her three children were among the passengers hurt in the train crash.

All three of her children who were on the train were able to walk off the train, but they were taken to hospital: "Thankfully [they're] all ok, one has a huge cut to the top of his head, he's been glued back together.

"They will be sore for a few days but are thankfully okay."

She understood two of the other injured were staff on the train, and the remaining person who was injured was another passenger.

It was not determined yet if the crash was a derailment or not, chairman of Greater Wellington Regional Council Daran Ponter said.

"I am aware of speculation in the community that the accident is the consequence of a derailment. But this is only speculation.

"All we can say is that the train's crashed into concrete blocks at the end of a runoff section of track. These concrete blocks are designed to stop trains progressing further. They were installed in 2025 as part of a KiwiRail upgrade programme."

However, police on Saturday said the crash was a derailment.

A TAIC spokesperson said on average, rail investigations take about 18 months, but each investigation "takes as long as it takes", and could be up to four years.

A KiwiRail spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with all those who were involved in last night's incident in Khandallah."

They directed questions to Metlink, who operate the Wellington urban train service, but said the incident and its causes were being fully investigated.

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