Wine train derails in Horowhenua

SAM BAKER/Manawatu Standard

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE: A wagon off the rails after Thursday night's derailment near Tokomaru.

Horizons Regional Council say no ecological damage has been done by wine that spilled into a waterway after a train derailed 21km southwest of Palmerston North.

Cranes were on site this morning clearing the four wagons carrying wine tankers, which tipped off the track by Rewa Rewa St in the town of Tokomaru, as a freight train headed north about 8.30pm last night.

About 30 Kiwirail staff and contractors were on site this morning inspecting the damaged wagons and sifting through twisted metal.

The air was also thick with the smell of wine.

Horizons spokesman Peter Burke said council staff visited the crash site today and were satisfied the wine that escaped into a nearby open drain had not caused any damage.

''There were no drunken sheep or cows so Fonterra won't have to worry about getting a sudden flush of wine in their milk.''

About 50 members of the Tokomaru community, including two school groups, watched and took pictures of the clean up.

KiwiRail spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said only one of the four tankers was pierced.

He did not know how much wine was inside but said the tanker weighed 34 tonnes.

The train was understood to be heading for Auckland but Mr Ramshaw said he did not know who owned the wine.

''I have put in some phone calls on that though.''

Initial reports suggested there was no damage to the actual rails, with only a few sleepers needing to be replaced, Mr Ramshaw said.

At this stage, it was hoped the track would be completely cleared and ready to use by about 7pm this evening, he said.

The accident caused disruption to the Capital Connection rail service this morning, with Kiwirail putting on busses to compensate.

Three fire trucks were sent to the scene last night.

No-one was injured.

The cause of the accident is being investigated but still unknown.

- © Fairfax NZ News