Spill spurs wishful thinking

WARWICK SMITH

BIG JOB: Big job: KiwiRail rail staff work to remove the wreckage after a train derailed near Tokomaru on Thursday night.

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Licking the grass and soaking it up with tea towels were two ideas Tokomaru residents had for cleaning up the wine that was split after a train derailed near the Horowhenua village.

Four wagons carrying wine tankers crashed off the tracks while heading north near Rewa Rewa St about 8.30pm on Thursday.

There was extensive damage to the wagons and some damage to railway sleepers, but no-one was injured.

About 30 KiwiRail staff and contractors used trucks, diggers and cranes to remove the wagons and clear the tracks yesterday.

Wine leaked into a nearby drain but Horizons Regional Council staff were satisfied there would be no adverse environmental effects.

Tokomaru residents gathered to watch and take photos. Some even set up deck chairs.

Wibo and Lisa De Jonge, who live directly across from the crash site, said they heard a huge bang when the train derailed.

"It was just the sound of screeching metal," Mrs De Jonge said. "I said to the kids `it sounds like a derailment' but we didn't go out to investigate because we heard the train carry on."

The family realised the wagons had derailed only when they saw the fire engines.

Mr De Jonge said the wine smell was strong on Thursday night but still lingered in the air yesterday.

Tokomaru resident Marilyn Laing went to see the train after hearing the commotion.

"Because I live with a train buff, it was quite exciting and when we first came down it looked like there were six wagons off the track, but in actual fact there wasn't that much."

She likened the smell of the wine to being inside a brewery or pub.

"There's been a lot of jokes about licking the grass and using a tea towel and then wringing it out.

"Apparently it's not wine, it's crushed grapes."

Tokomaru trainspotter Bernard Watson said the last train derailment in Tokomaru was in 1991.

"It was just a big southbound freight train. I've seen a few derailments and I hate to see good gear smashed and stuff get wasted."

Incident controller Brent Lawry would not be drawn on causes.

"All I can say is that it could have been worse. Certainly they got off light. We've had a lot worse in past years."

A split on the top of one of the tankers had caused the spillage, he said.

The Capital Connection and Overlander train services were cancelled during yesterday's cleanup.

Capital Connection customers were taken to and from Wellington by bus with the service resuming on Monday.

Overlander passengers were bused between Wellington and National Park, and the train would run as normal today.

The cleanup was expected to be finished by yesterday evening.

- © Fairfax NZ News