Preventable Rangitata Rail Bridge collapse could've had 'catastrophic' consequences - TAIC

A 610m-long rail bridge over the Rangitata River, South Canterbury, sags after flood water washed away one of 34 piers.

KiwiRail could have prevented the partial collapse of a key South Island rail bridge that could have caused a catastrophic derailment, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has found.

The report into the collapse of a section of the Rangitata Rail Bridge in 2024 identified three core safety issues:

KiwiRail's inspections were not in line with its own standards

There was no plan to mitigate the risk of the river scouring the bridge's base