The Wairarapa commuter train from Wellington came within less than an hour of a potentially devastating smash on Sunday afternoon because of a Masterton teenager's stupidity.
The boy, 17, was arrested on Sunday afternoon and charged with endangering public transport after admitting he left a large strainer post on railway tracks
at the Renall Street station, potentially endangering the lives of rail staff and passengers.
Police said the teenager confessed to leaving the post on the tracks after he and three others were picked up after an unrelated complaint in which a man reported a group of four youths riding around on bicycles and hitting letterboxes.
The man gave a good description of the four boys, who were aged 12, 13, 15 and 17, and police were able to catch up with them shortly after 4pm.
When questioned about what they were up to, the 17-year-old told police he had earlier left a large piece of wood on the train tracks at the Renall Street station.
The "piece of wood" turned out to be a solid strainer post,
Police also said the teenager had told them he had left a piece of four-by-two timber on the tracks a week earlier, which had been demolished by the train.
Kevin Ramshaw, communications advisor for Ontrack, the owner and manager of New Zealand's rail infrastructure, said the company was taking the incident very seriously.
He said the train's cowcatcher would have most likely picked up the wood, resulting in a bent cowcatcher and broken air pipes, immobilising the train.
"Nevertheless, objects left on tracks are a potential danger to drivers of freight trains and the crew and passengers on passenger services," Mr Ramshaw said.
"People who do place the lives of others in danger at risk deserve stern punishment.
"Incidentally, I understand from Toll that a train was approximately 50 minutes away from striking the object."
Sue Foley, of Toll New Zealand, said as it was a Sunday afternoon the train wouldn't have been as full as at peak times, but that did not make the prospect of a train crash any less scary.
"Irrespective of how many people are on board it's just an incredibly stupid thing to do, and while it might have been unlikely to derail the train, it's something you never want to find out.
"These events are rare, and when they do occur they cause incredible concern."
