50 Victoria Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
9 May 2022
Patrick Dunford
[FYI request #19074 email]
REF: OIA-9851
Dear Patrick
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your request
of 7 April 2022 for information regarding the safety of the railway crossing
at Hoskyns Road, Rolleston, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The safety concerns at the crossing are due to short stacking between the rail level crossing and the
intersection with State Highway 1 Main South Road. The term short stacking refers to locations where
an existing level crossing is in close proximity to an intersection and a vehicle, especially maximum
size heavy vehicles, could block the level crossing or intersection when departing from either. The
distance between the Hoskyns Road crossing and SH1 is 26 metres, which is less than the standard
30 metre stacking distance. Due to this, vehicles have been previously caught between the crossing
and intersection when they are active, creating a significant safety risk.
There are approximately 16,000 vehicles on Hoskyns Rd per day, about 9 percent of which are heavy
vehicles, using this link to access to and from the industrial area. The volume of general and heavy
vehicle traffic that currently travel through the intersection and the level crossing and the number of
daily occurrences where short stacking issues can occur make this one of the highest safety risk level
crossings in Canterbury.
The causes of the incidents were mostly to do with the level crossing, with 33 of the 40 coming from
this due to collisions or near misses with road vehicles. Other causes include issues related to rail
infrastructure maintenance and security breaches.
If you would like to discuss this reply with Waka Kotahi, please contact Ministerial Services by email at
[NZTA request email]
Yours sincerely
Robyn Elston
National Manager System Design
