Two signal technicians conducting unplanned maintenance on a railway level crossing south of Mataura on 12th January (2025) narrowly avoided a serious incident when a train passed through the site at 77km/h instead of the expected 10km/h, according to a recent Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report.

The technicians, working on the crossing’s power system, had requested a 10km/h temporary speed restriction (TSR) via cellphone rather than the standard open radio channel.

This meant only Train Control was aware of the request.

The plan was to inform the train driver once the train passed Mataura station limits, but the driver did not make the expected call.

As the train approached the crossing, the driver saw the workers and sounded the horn but was unable to slow in time.

No injuries or damage were reported.

TIAC found three key factors contributed to the near miss: the unplanned nature of the work, the use of a cellphone instead of open radio communication, and a delay in relaying the TSR to the driver.

KiwiRail has since reminded staff to follow established safety protocols and to use open communication channels for critical information.

However, TAIC reiterated that relying solely on procedural safeguards is insufficient and has called for stronger engineering controls to mitigate human error.

The incident echoes a similar near miss on Wellington’s Johnsonville Line, where track workers narrowly avoided being struck by a train after a miscommunication over cellphone with Train Control.