Train drivers are pleading with the public to be more careful at railway lines to prevent near misses and deaths.
Will Campbell Photo: RNZ/ Jonathan Mitchell
Since 2013, 110 pedestrians and motorists have been killed in collisions with trains, and KiwiRail estimates there's roughly one near miss every day.
Will Campbell has 30 years experience in rail - 20 of them as a driver.
He's seen a lot in that time, including a collision which killed a man about eight years ago.
He reckons he's involved with about one near miss every fortnight.
He's become more vigilant and aware as a result.
"As a driver you become a very good reader of body language - so you're always watching what people are doing and any change in behaviour - you're really watching like a hawk," he said.
Fletcher Goldsworthy is the face of a new video campaign to launch Rail Safety Week.
He's been a driver for more than four years and has had plenty of close calls in that time, including a woman crossing the tracks with a baby in a pram.
"You've got this knot of nervousness in your chest and you're just waiting to see what happens," he said.
Fletcher Goldsworthy Photo: RNZ/ Jonathan Mitchell
KiwiRail chief executive Greg Miller said it had support services in place to help drivers, such as Campbell and Goldsworthy, when they have a near miss or death.
He said the public needed to wake up and be alert - because KiwiRail cannot protect every kilometre of track around the country.
"A fully-laden 1000 tonne freight train can slide for one kilometre as soon as they lock up the brakes so it's a very difficult thing to do to stop instantly when you see a car, or a truck, or a person cross the track," he said.
In the past two years, 23 high-risk pedestrian crossings in Auckland have had barrier gates installed, 15 more are planned; with 12 upgrades in Wellington and at least 27 road crossing improvements on the cards in Wairarapa.
Transport Minister Phil Twyford said those preventative measures needed to be backed up by awareness.
"The investments that we're making upgrading safety improvements at rail crossings are making a difference - but we need people to be vigilant as well," he said.
Fletcher Goldsworthy has an important but simple plea.
"They need to look at the signs and the bells and the whistles."
A northbound freight train at the Rangiora Station. Photo: Katy Gosset/RNZ