Auckland rail operators have launched an investigation into how an electric passenger train entered a non-electrified section of line, damaging overhead cables and throwing services into chaos for much of Monday.
The incident occurred on a city-bound train at around 10.30am near Middlemore station, causing major disruptions on the Southern and Eastern rail lines.
A KiwiRail spokesperson said the "signalling-related issue" was involved.
The Manukau to Waitematā (Britomart) service was "incorrectly routed into a non-electrified area," according to Auckland Transport.
The incident severely damaged the overhead line and train pantograph. Twenty-four passengers were stranded on board for around two hours before being evacuated.
"A rail incident controller was immediately dispatched to the site to manage incident recovery," an Auckland Transport spokesperson said.
"In the meantime, two train managers onboard the service walked the carriages, updating passengers on the likely delay pending recovery.
"KiwiRail advised it needed to isolate and earth all overhead lines in the area immediately surrounding the now stranded train in order to make the area safe for a planned evacuation of the 24 passengers onboard.
"Once the area was made safe, all 24 passengers were evacuated from the service, out of the rail corridor, and then accompanied by staff to the Middlemore station platform a few hundred metres away.
"This occurred approximately two hours after the initial event and after the isolation works had been completed."
The stricken train was later towed away from the scene.
Evacuated passengers were offered bottled water, and staff waited with passengers as taxis and buses arrived to take them to their destinations once they were safely at a station, an Auckland Transport spokesperson said.
The agency was jointly investigating the incident with KiwiRail and Auckland One Rail, which operates passenger train services on contract.
The rail regulator Waka Kotahi NZTA and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission were advised of the incident, according to AT.
A Transport Accident Investigation Commission spokesperson said yesterday: "The commission is aware of the reported incident and is gathering information to inform a decision about whether to investigate."
Eastern and Southern line services faced significant disruption throughout Monday, with multiple cancellations during the afternoon and evening peak.
Crowds of passengers could be seen waiting for bus replacement services at Penrose and Ōtāhuhu stations, with services stopping short of Middlemore during the disruption.
Trains returned to the tracks at around 6.30pm on Monday.
Western line trains were also impacted due to crew displacement.
Monday's major disruption came after trains finally returned to the tracks around the city last week after a month of maintenance and upgrade works. KiwiRail has promised this January's network-wide shutdown would be the last on Auckland's rail network
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