KiwiRail network infrastructure manager ONTRACK will have signals staff on standby at Britomart Station this evening following a significant signalling failure which affected train services this morning.
“We always regret faults that cause delays to commuters and do our very best to get them fixed as quickly as possible,” ONTRACK’s Northern Regional Manager, Stephen Collett said.
This morning’s problem was caused when the part of the signalling system that detects the locations of trains failed, affecting three sets of points at the entrance to the station.
“The system did what it was designed to in this situation and failed to a safe state, stopping train movements into the station, and while there is a manual alternative it is slowm,” Mr Collett said.
It happened just after 5.20am, just before the morning commuter peak. A sizeable team was on site quickly to work on the repair, but they needed to carry out a complex series of tests to isolate and repair the fault, so it did take some time.
“Our first priority is to get trains running safely again as soon as possible. Finding the cause comes later and we are looking into that now,” Mr Collett said.
“Signalling involves complex electronics and computer programming, so it can take time to pinpoint the exact cause.”
The signalling equipment was installed in 2003 when Britomart was opened and this is the first time this particular fault has occurred since then. The equipment is used all over the world including the high density metro systems in Europe.