New Reflector Strips to be Installed on West Coast Coal Wagons

New strips of reflector tape will be installed on all of Tranz Rail’s coal trains running between Christchurch and the West Coast, following the successful completion of trials last week.

Tranz Rail’s South Island Operations Manager Jeanine Benson said one single high visibility red and white reflector strip will run the full length of more than 150 wagons that run between Christchurch and the West Coast.

Ms Benson said the recent tests have shown the strips will increase the visibility of coal trains on the Midland Line.

“Throughout the trials we looked at a whole range of reflector strip materials, including different colours and sizes and combinations, and we found that the single reflector strip along the whole length of the wagon was going to be the most visible at level crossings at night,” she says.

Tranz Rail would be installing the reflector strips on the wagons from the end of this month and into November.

“We are working as quickly as possible to get the strips installed, but we are purchasing the special tape in Australia, and need to coordinate hundreds of metres of the tape to make sure all the wagons are covered,” she says.

Tranz Rail says it intends to work together with the West Coast community and may employ people in the region to help with fixing the tape, and preparing the wagons prior to installation.

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