RAILWAY ACCIDENT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2651, 23 December 1915, Page 9

RAILWAY ACCIDENT

IS PETONE STATION SAFE?

CROSSING THE- LINES

EVIDENCE AT AN INQUEST

The inquest into the death of Mrs. Marjory Mitchell, aged (iS, who died at the Wellington Hospital 011 December 15 from injuries received in an accident at Petone 011 December 11, ivas resumed by Mr. D. G. A. Cooper yesterday afternoon. At til'. l previous hearing only medical evidence had been taken.

Senior-Sergeant Mulianey conducted tha inquiry on bohalf of the police, Mr. J. J. M'Grath appeared for tlie relatives of the deceased, and Mr. B. H. Simons, stationmaster at I'etone, for the Railway Department. llenry Hudson Perfect, signalman, said he was on duty when the accident occurred, and he saw l , the accident. Deceased was running down tlie platform when a special train was coming from Wellington. Sho was at tho north end of the platform, on the Petone side, and alio was hurrying towards the station. He supposed at tlie time that she was going to the station to get a ticket or something of tlie sort. He looked away for a moment to- mako 1111 entry in his train register book, and hearing the engine, whistle he looked again, and saw Mrs. Mitchell, who, having got down from the platform on to the tracks, had crossed over and was then 011 the track on which the approaching special was running. Mrs. Mitchell clambered up on to tho west platform, but fell back against the engine head, which shuck her on the left side and the head. The train, which so fat as he could remember consisted of two engines, two cars, and a van, pulled up in its own length. He could not think why Mrs. -MiteheU attempted to cross the line. Crossing the tracks was not permitted. There was a sub-way and a bridge, either of which passengers should use to join a. train on the other side. In fact, Airs. Mitchell passed the bridges, when approaching the station, and ii' she wished to go to the opposite platform should have used the bridge. To Mr. M'tirath: He saw the train about a quarter of a mile away before he saw Mrs. Mitchell at all. There were three "formed'' crossings over the tracks for the convenience of railway employees. It' was highly probable that deceased attempted to cross the line at one of these crossings. Passengers were not ailowod to use these crossings, and he had never seen passengers using them. There were notices on the statton to' show passengers how to cross the lines by bridge or sub-way, but a person entering the station would havo to go either 100 jwrds south or 150 yards north up or down the platform before seeing one of these notices - .- Mr. M'Grath: Would it not be natural for a stranger coming on to the platform to go across on one of these tracks? Witness: If sho didn't use her head. Mr. M'Grath. .1. don't say anything about this passage. Isn't it a natural thing? Witness': If sho didn't see the notice, she might ask somebody. Mr. M'Grath: 'But we have it that there was no one there this day. Witness: It was a special train that was ruiiing. That is why there was no one about.

Mr. M'firath: Assuming thero is lio one there, is it not a natural thing to cross over to the other platform by oils of these crossings? '• Witness: Yes, I suppose it is, if she didn't ask anybody. . , , To Mr. Simons: The level of the platform was about 18 inches above the level of the joined crossing. Witaess said that he had never seon passengers use the crossing, but he had seen railway servants, other than uniformed men, using it on a few occasions. It was possible that these men, who were stores hands for tho most part, might bo mistaken for passengers. There were notices in the main hall of the station building warning passengers not to cross the tracks. There was a by-law against crossing the tracks, and a copy of the by-laws was exhibited in the entrance hall of the station. s

Samuel Eiffe, messenger in tho'locomotive engineer's office, said he was on duty on the day of the accident, lie gave an account of what occurred similar to, but less complete, than that given by tho pre. vious witness.

James Foster, engine-driver, said that ho was driving tho leading engine on the train which struck the deceased. He blew a long blast on the engine whistlo when about 200 yardß south of the platform, and he blew again when he first saw tho woman on the tracks. She was then between the two lines, and about a chain away from his .approaching engine. He at once applied the emergency brake, but the engino struck the woman before the train could be brought to a standstill. He did not see the actual impact. To Mr. M'Grath: Thero were two engines, one car, and one van on the train— a minimum load and a maximum of brake power. The instructions were for a nonstop run to Upper Hutt. He had no intention of stopping at Petonc, and lie wa9 running through at about 20 miles an hour. At that speed he thought tho train could not have been stopped in less than 30 or 10 yards. He was not looking out for anyone crossing the line, as it was not usual for passengers to do so. 'Robert Henry-Simons, stationmaster at Petone, said that the accident had happened before he saw anything of ttie occurrence. The only reason he could suggest for Mrs. Mitchell crossing tho open lines was, that she probably wished to take a short cut—an unlawful one. The "formed" crossings, to which reference had been made, were intended solely for the use of railway servants, and were used to facilitate the transport of fairly heavy goods from one platform to the other. To Mr. M'Grath: There was nobody on duty on the platform when the special train was running through. Thofe was r.o need for anyone, as no passengers were | being <(ealt with. There was nothing but the ordinary semaphore signals to indicate to any person on the platform that a train.was approaching. Ee maintained that everybody should know that it was dangerous and unlawful to cross the tracks from one platform to another. Mr. M'Grath said that in his opmion Petone station, was a death trap. There was no notice at tho entrance to the platfoim to advise people how to cross, and they were invited, by these three formed crossings, to go over the open lines. He himself had seen three or four cross over on these ways in a few minutes on one morning recently. He could produce witnesses who would that they saw 13 passengers cross over in a short period on auother day. Be contended that it was a Tesognised practice for passengers to cross over the line 3 by these tracks. Constable Canning said that he was frequently on duty at Petone railway station, and it was not the custom for pas. sengers to cross over the tracks. Alexander Hutcheson said he had made a close examination of tho scene of toe accident. In his opinion a stranger would at once suppose that the proper method of crossing was by the way Mrs. Mitchell took. It was a beaten thoroughfare. Mr. M'Grath urged that there was great need for a prominent notice to passengers warning them of danger from approaching trains, and directing them now to cross to tlie opposite platform. _ _ The Coroner refrained from giving Jus verdict until he should visit Petone station to-day.