One person has been seriously injured after a train hit a car on the Kapiti Coast.

A car was dragged up to 30m when it was hit by a freight train on an unarmed crossing south of Te Horo between Waikanae and Otaki.

In a statement police said the car was struck by a train while crossing tracks on to a private road about 7km south of Otaki at about 1.50pm.

One man was reported to be in the car.

A rescue helicopter landed at the scene and transported the man to Wellington Hospital.

An NZTA spokesman said the road opened about 3.30pm.

A local resident said nearby property owners had been trying for years for safety improvements to the crossing.

The crossing is on a sweeping bend and has no safety barriers.

Local and railway authorities had been passing the buck and nothing had been done, she said.

- © Fairfax NZ News