Two rail workers suffered an electric shock overnight at Auckland’s Parnell train station.
Emergency services were called to the scene at about 1.20am.
Senior Sergeant Matthew Child told 1News the two workers were both taken to hospital.
“One with significant burns to his body, another one not so bad.”
A KiwiRail spokesperson said at about midday: “A KiwiRail worker is in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital and we are in contact with our contractor, who is supporting their employee who has been discharged from hospital.”
Police were “liaising” with WorkSafe. Fire and Emergency NZ and St John also attended.
Child said the pair were doing railway overhead maintenance when the incident occurred.
“When two people end up getting hurt at a workplace, we will always treat it relatively seriously,” he added.
“But we won’t be the lead agency, WorkSafe will take over from here.”
WorkSafe confirmed it had been notified and was making initial inquiries.
‘Significant delays’
After disruption this morning, “all trains will be running to their normal timetables by 1pm”, an Auckland Transport spokesperson said.
“We thank customers for their understanding today as services resume.”
Vehicle came into contact with power lines
KiwiRail general manager of metros Jon Knight shed more light on the incident in a statement.
He said the workers were injured when “a maintenance vehicle they were in came into contact with overhead power lines”.
“Power had been isolated in a section of the rail network for inspections on the overhead power systems to take place as part of routine maintenance,” he said.
“KiwiRail regrets the inconvenience to the public, but we need to ensure people and the network are safe.”
In a later statement, Knight said “overhead power was turned off for the planned maintenance”.
KiwiRail said “a maintenance vehicle they were in came into contact with overhead power lines”. (Source: 1News)
Power was restored shortly before midday, he later said, with the rail reopening to commuter trains.
“We have removed the rail vehicle and inspected the overhead lines, signals and tracks in the area.
“Overhead power was turned off for the planned maintenance work being undertaken last night. Safety for our staff and the public is always our top priority and we are working to understand what led to this unfortunate incident.”
Todd Valster of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union said it “doesn’t make sense” for people to get electrocuted if the power was off.
“So there might be some confusion about the particular worksite, the area, the area that was isolated verses the area that was being worked on.
“But that will all come out in a thorough investigation by both KiwiRail and the regulators.”
He said an incident of this type was very uncommon and workers took safety incredibly seriously.
