The driver of a train that hit and fatally injured a man in South Auckland sounded the train's horn but the man didn't react to the warning.
Police say the 32-year-old man parked his car about 20 metres north of the Walters Road train crossing in Takanini and crossed the tracks to speak with friends about midday on Tuesday.
He then walked backwards on the track and didn't appear to hear the passenger train coming, despite the driver blasting his horn from about 300m away.
Auckland Transport says the southern line was closed from early afternoon between Papakura and Homai but has re-opened. It says trains will be back to normal scheduling for the evening peak.
KiwiRail will investigate.