Coal train hits landslide in New Zealand and gets partially derailed

A coal train got partially derailed after it hit a landslide in New Zealand’s Buller Gorge during the early hours of Monday, the 16^th of October.

Buller Gorge is located in the northern part of South Island’s west coast, while alongside it runs State Highway 6 and the Stillwater–Ngākawau Line railway, the first part of which opened in 1889 and has since mainly been used for coal transport.

Furthermore, the landslide occurred halfway between Westport and Inangahua, where a weathered rock slope gave way and blocked a short tunnel’s exit. The passing locomotive hit the landslide and got partially derailed.

It was announced by a spokesperson of the train operators around 3 a.m. on Monday that the train was empty, carrying only the locomotive engineer onboard, who was uninjured in the event as the train was moving slowly, following a speed restriction.

It is also worth mentioning that the spokesperson also noted how a slope stability assessment had been carried out by means of UAVs a few days prior to the accident, on Wednesday.

Finally, RNZ reports that on Thursday the 19^th, geotechnical engineers visited the site to carry out damage assessments on the track and tunnel and form a rehabilitation and debris removal plan.