Wellington train crash: Investigators begin work at site

8:47 am today

Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue

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 thunderous bang, 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.

KiwiRail's 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."

Investigators inspecting a train that crashed in suburban Wellington, on Saturday night.

Photo: RNZ/Mark Stevens

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."

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

The train crashed between Box Hill and Khandallah stations.

Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

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.

Louise Cook, chief investigator at the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) said investigators began working at the site overnight. They 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."

The scene on Sunday morning.

Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue

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.

Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue

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 trains 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 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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