Two rail workers have suffered an electric shock overnight at Auckland’s Parnell train station.
Police said the pair were doing railway overhead maintenance when the incident occurred. (Source: 1News)
Emergency services were called to the scene at about 1.20am.
Senior Sergeant Matthew Child told 1News the two workers were both taken to hospital.
“One with significant burns to his body, another one not so bad.”
Police were “liaising” with WorkSafe. Fire and Emergency NZ and St John also attended.
Child said the pair were doing railway overhead maintenance when the incident occurred.
“When two people end up getting hurt at a workplace, we will always treat it relatively seriously,” he added.
“But we won’t be the lead agency, WorkSafe will take over from here.”
Police were working to reopen the scene “as quickly as possible”.
WorkSafe confirmed it had been notified and was making initial inquiries.
‘Significant delays’
Auckland Transport’s website said Onehunga Line services were suspended after “an overnight incident”.
Train services were also impacted for the morning peak on the Eastern Line, Southern Line and Western Line, with the lines “running at a reduced frequency”.
Britomart station was closed, the agency’s train line status page said.
An AT spokesperson said Waitematā and Parnell stations were also closed.
“We are organising rail replacement services. Please check Live Departures on AT Mobile App for any service changes.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience this morning.”
Vehicle came into contact with power lines
KiwiRail general manager of metros Jon Knight shed more light on the incident in a statement.
He said the workers were injured when “a maintenance vehicle they were in came into contact with overhead power lines”.
“Power had been isolated in a section of the rail network for inspections on the overhead power systems to take place as part of routine maintenance,” he continued.
“The maintenance vehicle is still on the line and power cannot be restored between Newmarket and Britomart, including Britomart station.
“We anticipate we will be able to remove the rail vehicle and fully reopen the line around midday today and well ahead of afternoon peak.
“KiwiRail regrets the inconvenience to the public, but we need to ensure people and the network are safe.”
