Rail Safety Week 10-16 August 2026
MEDIA RELEASE
Wairarapa Road Safety Council
For immediate release — 5 August 2026
Wairarapa urged to “Be a Trainspotter” as Rail Safety Week returns, 10–16 August
Wairarapa Road Safety Council (WRSC) is backing this year’s national Rail Safety Week, running 10–16 August, with a message that hits close to home: level crossings on our own rail line demand everyone’s full attention, every single time.
The campaign theme, Be a Trainspotter When You Cross, encourages drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to stop, look both ways and genuinely check for trains before crossing — rather than relying on habit or a quick glance.
For Wairarapa, this isn’t an abstract message. In late July, three level crossing collisions occurred across the North Island in a single day — one of them on Andersons Line in Carterton, where four people suffered injuries. TrackSAFE described it as the first time in at least two decades that three such collisions had happened on the same day nationwide. It followed an earlier, deeply frightening near-miss at a crossing near Waingawa, south of Masterton, where a car entered the path of an oncoming freight train — an incident KiwiRail later said had taken a real toll on the train crew involved, even though the outcome was not fatal.
Wairarapa Road Safety Council Projects Coordinator Holly Hullena says these incidents are a sobering reminder of what’s at stake every time someone crosses the tracks without paying full attention.
“With 17 level crossings in the Carterton district alone, and more across Masterton and South Wairarapa, our rail line runs right through daily life here — school runs, farm trips, the commute to Wellington. It only takes a split second of distraction for something to go horribly wrong,” Hullena says.
“We also don’t want to lose sight of the train drivers in all of this. They can sound the horn and hit the brakes, but a train simply cannot stop in time the way a car can. Every collision and every near miss stays with the driver in that cab long after the incident is over. Their wellbeing matters just as much as anyone else’s.”
Hullena says the Council is acutely conscious that behind the statistics are real Wairarapa families who have lost someone, or come close to it, at a level crossing.
“Our thoughts are with every family in this region who has been touched by a level crossing tragedy or a terrifying near miss. We run this campaign in their memory, and in the hope that a moment’s extra care from all of us means no other Wairarapa whānau has to go through what they have.”
A decade of warning signs on the Wairarapa Line
KiwiRail records show 11 vehicle-train collisions at level crossings on the Wairarapa Line over the past decade — and more than 70 percent of them happened in the Carterton District alone:
Andersons Line, Carterton, has now recorded a second collision in under 13 years, following the incident in late July that left four people with minor injuries. WRSC says the pattern is a clear signal that safety around crossings depends as much on driver behaviour as it does on infrastructure.
Beyond the driver’s seat: an opportunity for Wairarapa schools
WRSC is keen to stress that Rail Safety Week isn’t only a message for motorists. Many Wairarapa tamariki cross the railway line or pass through station areas as part of their daily journey to school, and there are real opportunities for local schools to get involved this week and beyond:
• Classroom resources for all year levels, including the new graphic novel A Train Trip to Nana’s (Years 1–3) and Fast Tracks, Smart Moves (Years 7–8)
• The chance to host a visit from a KiwiRail rail safety ambassador
• Subject to availability, class trips to try a train driving simulator in Wellington
• Curriculum-linked resources, virtual field trips, songs and activities via Waka Kotahi NZTA’s Rail Safety Education Portal
“We’d love to see Wairarapa schools taking up these opportunities,” Hullena says. “Rail safety isn’t a once-a-year conversation — it’s something we want woven into how our kids think about getting around, all year round.”
Wairarapa schools and community groups interested in getting involved can contact us at rsc@wairsc.org.nz or vist the website – www.wairsc.org.nz
Other handy sites:
Greater Wellington Regional Council - Kura Kete
Key safety messages for Rail Safety Week:
• Tracks are for trains, not people
• Only cross at designated railway crossings
• Stop – Look – Listen – Think before crossing railway tracks
• Trains cannot stop quickly — always assume one may be closer or faster than it looks
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview with Holly Hullena, contact:
Wairarapa Road Safety Council
rsc@wairsc.org.nz
