Dear Rangitikei District Council,
Transport Accident Investigation Commission has recently reported on a fatal level crossing accident at the level crossing where Saunders Road crosses over the North island Main Trunk railway near Marton. According to TAIC's report, this road beyond the level crossing only serves one private property. There also appears to be a secondary means of access to this property via Andrews Road which connects to Onepuhi Road. Onepuhi Road has additional transport connections in Rangitikei District and eliminates the need to cross the railway at the Saunders Road level crossing, effectively via the safer underpass of the railway on State Highway 1.

The safety of the railway crossing is particularly of concern in the case of large commercial vehicles which might be using the road as there is limited sight distance of approximately 200 metres of trains approaching from the north. The time required for a LCV to clear the track in the case of a train that is just beyond that distance and which can reach the crossing within a short time could be a factor in the accident risk and is evaluated within the accident report. It appears mitigation of this risk is not commercially viable for Kiwirail given the estimate that only 12 vehicles a day use the crossing.

In view of the fact there is only one property served by this section of Saunders Road and that alternative road access appears to be available to this property it appears that the interests of multiple parties including Kiwirail, Rangitikei District Council ratepayers charged for maintaining an unnecessary public road, taxpayers funding NZTA for maintaining an unnecessary public road and the wider public interests of road and railway safety could be best served by this section of Saunders Road including the railway crossing either being converted to a private road or closed completely.

Has the Rangitikei District Council evaluated the possibility of carrying out the actions of closing this section of Saunders Road.

Yours faithfully,

Patrick Dunford

Dear info,

As it is now two months since the request was sent can you let me know if a response is available from the council yet.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick Dunford

Dear Lisa Daniels,

As it is now well beyond the statutory deadline a prompt response would be appreciated.
This railway crossing was the site of a fatal accident several years ago because of maintenance work required due to its status as a public level crossing on a public road. However on closer inspection it appears that only one property is served by the section of road at the level crossing which means this road section and crossing should be converted into a private road.
It would appear that currently Rangitikei District Council ratepayers and the taxpayer are maintaining this section of Saunders Road as a public road when the responsibility and cost should be transferred to the private landowner. Any access arrangements that may be required by Kiwirail could be negotiated by them directly with the landowner.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick Dunford

Dear Lisa Daniels,

Please supply further information as to why it is not considered reasonable to change the status of the crossing to a private level crossing.
There are gates in the road directly over the crossing which implies this is private land at this point. If this is indeed the case and the road becomes private on the far side of the crossing, then there would be no practical difference in impact if the crossing itself were in private ownership except for the requirement to maintain it as a public road which is the case at the present time. The volume of traffic shown in Kiwirail's viewer app is estimated at 12 vehicles per day. This is an extremely low figure for a public level crossing and strongly implies the private nature of the property which lies beyond the railway crossing. Since this also gives an inference of the volume of traffic which is on this section of Saunders Road, there must likewise be a question over the nature of the road being fully sealed along its entire length until reaching the gates on the far side of the crossing, for such low traffic volume.
The maintenance of the crossing as a public road means that it is accessible to the public and thus the safety hazards of this crossing must be considered. As there are no warning devices fitted at the crossing, those choosing to cross must be able to appraise the hazards of trains approaching from the north at the full line speed of 110 km/h which is approved for train operations in this area, given that the track is notably curved, thus obstructing the direct view of trains approaching from this direction and giving very little warning of trains approaching from this direction.
Kiwirail have advised me that they now consider this crossing to be the 513th most hazardous in New Zealand, which is a very high hazard rating given there are some 4000 level crossings listed in New Zealand in total. This means that all reasonable steps must be taken to to address the risk of level crossing accidents at this location. As the very low traffic volume is unlikely to warrant the provision of lights/bells at this location, alternative measures must be considered to address the public safety risk at this location.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick Dunford