Beyond fences: Why behaviour change is key to preventing rail tragedies

It is a tragic reality that more than 180 people have died on the New Zealand rail network in the past thirteen years.  Every one of those deaths was a life cut short. Every one resulted in lasting trauma for all those involved.

The ripples spread outwards from those most affected – the whanau and friends of the victims – to the wider communities, the affected rail staff, the first responders and to those who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up witnessing the horror of a death on the tracks.

TrackSAFE’s mission is simple: to prevent harm on the railway network. And yet, even after almost twenty years of awareness-raising, education, and advocacy, we still see the same behaviours putting people at risk; shortcutting across tracks, walking along railway tracks, jumping off railway bridges, and perhaps assuming trains can stop.

Although rare, accidental deaths on the network are not isolated.  The coroner has recently released findings on the death of a teenager in the South Island in 2023 who was hit while walking on railway tracks on his way to work. A rail enthusiast was killed in 2013 while photographing a Mainline Steam train. In Napier in 2014, a woman died while walking her dog on railway tracks. Two young people have died in separate incidents in Matamata. And two children have died on the Ngāruawāhia Bridge since 2002. This issue spans both geography and generations.

There are often calls for more fencing, and we can understand that instinct. When tragedy strikes, we look for immediate, tangible solutions and in some cases, fencing is warranted. But we believe the issue of rail trespass can’t be solved by infrastructure alone. Fences may help in some high-risk locations, but with almost 4,000 kilometres of tracks in this country, we cannot fence our way out of the problem.

We need a national shift in understanding and behaviour.

The scale of the problem

Every year in New Zealand, thousands of people cross railway tracks illegally. Last year alone, rail staff reported almost 650 trespass incidents and of those, 60 were near misses with pedestrians. These are just the events we know about – the real number is undoubtedly much higher.  In some towns throughout New Zealand, crossing the tracks to take a shortcut is seen as normal.

Crossing railway tracks anywhere other than a formed level crossing is not only unsafe, but also illegal. Under the Railways Act 2005, the only lawful place to cross tracks is at an official crossing point. Doing so elsewhere can carry fines of up to $10,000, but this sanction is rarely used.

This is where we face our greatest challenge: not just ignorance of the law, but a deeply ingrained complacency about the risks of trains. Maybe people wrongly believe they’ll hear a train coming. Or that they can judge its speed. Or that they have time to cross. They might assume trains are on a fixed schedule. None of these assumptions are true.

Trains can appear at any time whether they are expected or not. They travel faster than they appear to and take much longer to stop than people realise. A fully loaded freight train can take up to a kilometre to come to a complete stop after the emergency brake is applied. Electric trains, like those used in Auckland and Wellington, are almost silent.

The human toll

We often hear about the impact on victims and their families, and we cannot underestimate the pain and trauma caused by a death on the rail network. But these events also leave a lasting mark on our rail community, particularly locomotive engineers, on board staff, rail incident controllers and the emergency workers who deal with the aftermath. I’ve spoken to many drivers over the years who have experienced near misses and collisions. Some never return to work. Others carry the emotional toll for the rest of their careers. One driver returned to work after a collision, only to experience another fatality on his first day back. These are the human consequences that are so often hidden behind the statistics.

So, what works?

There are some practical steps that can be taken. Using train horns, putting up signs, thinning out vegetation to improve visibility, selective fencing and pedestrian pathways are all positive, practical steps.  However, to prevent further tragedies, we need to move beyond relying on rules, penalties, and fences. We need to change the way people think about rail safety. But changing attitudes is not easy. It takes time, repetition, and community buy-in.

Every one of us has a role to play in preventing harm on our railway. Speak up when you see unsafe behaviour. Model safe habits. Advocate for better education, especially in communities where rail runs close to schools or homes. Support the efforts of organisations to get into schools, share stories, and shift the narrative around railway safety.

At TrackSAFE we do not want to write about another fatal collision. We do not want another locomotive engineer to carry the trauma of an avoidable incident. And we do not want another family to receive that devastating knock on the door.

Together we need to change the culture that makes trespassing on railway tracks feel normal. And that might build the most powerful barrier of all.

Megan Drayton

Megan Drayton has managed the TrackSAFE Foundation in New Zealand for the past fifteen years, having started her career in rail with Tranz Rail in the early 2000s. Her current role involves promoting public safety around the New Zealand rail network, including managing high-profile rail safety campaigns such as Rail Safety Week. She engages widely with all sectors of the rail industry and advocates for safety improvements based on risk.

TrackSAFE is supported by KiwiRail, NZ Transport Agency, Auckland One Rail, Transdev Wellington, Greater Wellington, Auckland Transport, John Holland and Stantec. Megan also works closely with TrackSAFE Australia, sharing knowledge and resources for a common purpose. She is passionate about reducing harm and making a difference and believes that the best way to improve safety outcomes is by working together.