A West Coast rail tunnel partially collapsed, affecting freight services.
KiwiRail’s Chief Infrastructure Officer Andre Lovatt said to Chris Lynch Media that around 2.15pm, on Saturday afternoon, a digger driver noticed some crumbling as he was performing planned maintenance on the Tawhai Tunnel south of Reefton.
The operator safely exited the tube before a partial collapse took place.
Lovatt stated that “the 370m tunnel remains close”.
“A safe entry program must be developed and approved in order to fully assess the current situation and determine the scope and timeframe of the work required.
“No passenger services are using this line and we’re talking to affected freight clients.” :