Train hits motorbike abandoned on tracks in Te Puke

Firefighters and police were called to railway tracks in Te Puke last night. Photo / File

A railway line in the Bay of Plenty was closed last night after a train hit a motorbike apparently abandoned on the tracks.

Emergency services were called to a section of track near the Te Puke Highway shortly before midnight.

A police spokeswoman said the bike was found under the stopped train, but hours of searching the area found no sign of a rider.

Te Puke fire chief Glenn Williams said firefighters used a handheld thermal imaging camera to search the area around the train and 400 to 500m behind it.

As far as he could tell the object the train hit was a "two-wheeler farm bike".

He understood the bike was lying on the track and the train could not stop in time.

"It was pushed along a couple of hundred metres."

He said the incident happened between the crossings at Bell Rd and Collins Lane, just west of the Te Puke township.

A Kiwirail spokesman said a wood pulp train travelling from Mount Maunganui towards Kawerau collided with "a motorbike left abandoned at a service crossing" about 11.30pm.

The collision happened at a service crossing - as opposed to a public road level crossing - on the East Coast Main Trunk line. Service crossings are often found on farms.

"No one was injured and the train was inspected before it carried on to Kawerau. The line was then closed, so that a full track inspection could be undertaken in daylight, and was reopened just after 6am this morning."

"Trains have limited ability to stop quickly, given their size and momentum, so anything that falls on or is left on the tracks poses a risk.

"KiwiRail urges everyone to be cautious around rail lines and ensure they are left clear so that trains can travel safely."

Firefighters were also called to a house fire in Waihi Beach last night.

The single storey home on Angus Lane was "well-involved" when firefighters arrived about 7.30pm, Fire and Emergency communications manager Paul Radden said.

There were no reported injuries.

Crews from Waihi and Mayorview were called.

A fire investigator has been assigned to look into the cause of the blaze.