Story: Railway accidents

More links and websites

• Level crossings

  Safety rules for crossing railway tracks.

• KiwiRail

  The KiwiRail site includes a good section of safety and compliance.

• Ministry of Transport

  The Ministry of Transport develops transport policies for New Zealand.

• New Zealand disasters

  A timeline of major New Zealand disasters, starting in 1846, which includes the Ongarue, Hyde and Tangiwai disasters.

• Pillows of the dead

  John Archer recalls the recovery of bodies from the Whangaehu river by Mangamāhū locals following the Tangiwai disaster and the impact that had on the community.

• Rail accident investigation

  Reports of investigations into rail accidents by the Transport Accident Investigation Committee.

• Tangiwai railway disaster

  An account of the Tangiwai rail disaster, 1953.

• TrackSAFE New Zealand

  This website, developed by the Chris Cairns Foundation with the support of KiwiRail, provides information about rail safety.

More suggestions and sources

• Atkinson, Neill. Trainland: how railways made New Zealand. Auckland: Random House, 2007.
• Churchman, Geoffrey B. Danger ahead: New Zealand railway accidents in the modern era. Wellington: IPL, 1991.
• Conly, Geoff, and Graham Stewart. Tragedy on the track: Tangiwai and other New Zealand railway accidents. Wellington: Grantham House, 1986.
• Watson, James. Links: a history of transport and New Zealand society. Wellington: Ministry of Transport, 1996.