(The following story by John Harold appeared on the Papakura Courier website on July 2.)
AUCKLAND — Train drivers and passengers are in the firing line when they hurtle along “bomber’s alley” and rail officials are worried someone will be seriously hurt or killed.
Two train drivers are lucky to have escaped without far more serious injuries after rocks were hurled at their locomotives recently on the notorious stretch of railway line between Westfield in Otahuhu and Papakura.
The stone throwers range in age from as young as eight up to about 20.
About a month ago near Papakura a rock shattered a window, sending a shard of glass flying into the driver’s eye, and about six months ago, between Papakura and Manurewa, a rock sailed through an open window and hit a driver in the neck.
“If that had hit him in the centre of the temple we would have a homicide on our hands,” says Toll rail occupational competency manager Brendon Judd.
“I don’t think anyone should be subjected to that.”
It’s not only railway workers who are at risk, he says.
“What I find more frightening is one of these days someone is going to get lucky with one of these rocks and it is going to penetrate the laminated glass and hit a member of the public and someone could be killed,” Mr Judd says.
“It’s highly dangerous, it’s highly irresponsible and it’s not a case of if, it’s a case of when someone is seriously injured.”
Locomotive engineer and tutor driver Neil Messiter says there’s a lot of frustration and anger among drivers who have had a gutsful of being targeted by stone throwers.
“I’ve probably had 25 or 26 cases in 27-and-a-half years. It’s frightening. The ones that are worst are the ones you don’t see coming at you, especially at night.”
The third generation railway worker says his father had to have pieces of glass removed from his face after a rock throwing incident in Wellington in 1972.
So it’s not a new problem but it is getting worse, Mr Messiter says.
And the worst spot in Auckland is the line from Westfield to Papakura which is known as “bomber’s alley” or “ambush alley”.
Mr Judd says fencing off the rail lines isn’t an option.
He has urged residents to call the police immediately if they see people acting suspiciously around rail lines because he believes a quick police response is the key to catching them.
“I firmly believe that a lot of the wider public don’t know what some of these yobs are doing.
“They just see people loitering and think they are tagging or whatever when they could be there for more nefarious purposes.
“If we can make the public aware that this sort of nonsense is going on hopefully they might take a bit more notice of these children hanging around railway lines.”
The problem is worse during school holidays and Mr Judd would like to work with schools on an education programme aimed at preventing the problem.
At least one window is smashed a week, he says, and the ratepayers of the Auckland region have to foot the bill for the damage.
It costs about $500 to replace a typical window but cab windows are about $1500 each.