Te Puke: Train derails after travelling through flooded section of track

Up to 10 wagons from a freight train derailed near Te Puke this morning. Photo / Tyson Smith

Up to 10 wagons of a freight train derailed near Te Puke this morning after the train travelled through a flooded section of track.

The locomotive was still on the tracks but up to 10 wagons, carrying logs and pulp, derailed, a KiwiRail spokesperson said.

The train’s two crew members were not injured.

The incident happened around 5.30am east of Te Puke after significant rainfall in the area overnight. The train was travelling on the East Coast Main Trunk Line from Kawerau to Mount Maunganui.

KiwiRail teams are inspecting the site, and regulators, including the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, have been notified.

The section of the East Coast Main Trunk Line is currently closed.

The train was carrying logs and pulp. Photo / Tyson Smith

Local resident Tyson Smith did not hear the train derail but saw what happened on Facebook this morning and went out to take some photos.

He described the scene as “carnage”.

Smith spoke to two others at the scene - one was another local resident who had been out all morning moving beehives to higher ground.

“He did not hear the crash, but wondered why there was a train idling all morning.”

There was also a local kiwifruit orchardist at the scene surveying the damage. The orchardist thought a nearby culvert was to blame as it was blocked and water had built up behind it, Smith said.

Smith said KiwiRail staff were on site assessing the damage.

The section of the East Coast Main Trunk Line is currently closed. Photo / Tyson Smith