Train crash drivers father and son

Passengers are helped down from the carriage after two Metro units collided following a slip on the tracks north of Plimmerton. Photo / NZPA

Wellington commuters are being warned to expect delays today after heavy rain lashed the region, causing several landslides, contributing to a head-on crash between two trains and closing the North Island's main rail line.

The two trains, carrying a total of 60 people, collided near Plimmerton, North of Wellington, about 3.15pm yesterday after the north-bound train hit a slip and derailed into the path of the southbound train.

Three passengers were taken to hospital with moderate injuries.

KiwiRail spokesperson Nigel Parry said the two drivers, who coincidentally were father and son, were both uninjured and will be off work to give them time to cope with the incident.

"I personally spoke to one of the locomotive engineers and he was shaken but was doing well," he said.

"Sometimes with incidents like this you can get a delayed shock, so we have a robust procedure in place with counselling."

The pair were believed to have undergone drug and alcohol tests last night.

It took several hours to unload the passengers - 40 from the northbound train and 14 from the southbound train - due to poor weather and the potential danger of exposed wires.

Retired Levin school teacher Bev Bowater said she thought she was going to die.

"We were close to the point of impact ... The train driver yelled out to us brace yourselves. We hit the slip and shifted off the track. The driver's cab was destroyed. He had to move himself out of the way," she said.

"It's just amazing. I just cannot believe how safe we all are. It rattled my cage. I'm still in a state of shock."

Mr Parry said passenger train services this morning had began again on the line at 7am, with trains going as far as Plimmerton and buses ferrying passengers to destinations further north.

A second slip, further north at Muri, had damaged the track and KiwiRail would be clearing and shoring up the track today, Mr Parry said.

He did not know when services would resume as normal.

KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn yesterday said KiwiRail would have closed the track if it had known about the slip.

He asked commuters to be patient with temporarily limited services.

"We will be doing the best we can with a combination of rail and bus, but services will be very limited and will not start until later than usual. We would advise commuters to use alternative transport if they can," he said.

Commuters should check the Tranz Metro website or their text alerts in the morning to plan their journey.

Meanwhile, heavy rain also caused the collapse of a retaining wall onto a house in Kilbirnie, forcing the family out of the uninhabitable building, Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said.

Building inspectors, insurers and the fire service will be inspect the house today.

"Our building inspectors are a bit concerned about some of the neighbouring houses as well, but so far none of them have had any damage," Mr MacLean said.

A slip in the northern suburb of Khandallah had undermined a couple of properties, and council staff were investigating.

The council call centre had the busiest day of the winter.

In Lower Hutt, rising river levels in the Hutt River were threatening vehicles parked in the Riverside Car Park, police said.

Heavy rain had earlier closed roads in Nelson and Marlborough, and caused the Pelorus River to burst its banks.

- NZPA