Kiwirail has established that damage to a section of spouting on the Palmerston Railway Station was caused by a loose curtain on the side of a wagon that had caught the spouting as it passed through the station at night on March 24.
It was the second time in 18 months the station canopy had been damaged by a passing train, Bryan Jackson, the joint owner of the DeRail cafe which operates in the Palmerston station building, said.
Under KiwiRail's terms of agreement with the building owner, KiwiRail was responsible for repairing the damage, KiwiRail public affairs manager Kevin Ramshaw said.
He added KiwiRail was disturbed by suggestions trains travelling faster than the allowable speed were damaging the building.
The company had checked recordings on the locomotive which was pulling the March 24 train and discovered the train passed through Palmerston at between 54kmh and 56kmh, well within the 70kmh speed limit.
The lease agreement with the owner gives KiwiRail the right to alter the canopy if the company thinks it necessary. The company would consider the canopy's clearance from the track as part of the repair, Mr Ramshaw said.
Mr Jackson was pleased with KiwiRail's response, but noted that if damage to the building was occurring at speeds lower than 70kmh, he wondered whether the present maximum speed limit of 70kmh for trains travelling through the Palmerston rail yards was too high.
