trackAbout Us
Background
Activities
The Trust engages in activities including:
- Rail safety advertising
- Publicity and media relations
- Events and safety campaigns
- Research and data analysis
- Advocacy and engagement
- Promotion of best practice schools' education
History
In 2006, international cricketer Chris Cairns established the Chris Cairns Foundation, a charitable trust aimed at raising public awareness about rail safety. Chris’ teenage sister Louise had been killed in a level crossing collision in 1993, when a cement truck failed to stop at level crossing and collided with the passenger train she was travelling on near Rolleston in Canterbury. After seven successful years of lifting the profile of the issue in New Zealand the Chris Cairns Foundation rebranded to become TrackSAFE NZ. Chris is no longer involved with the day-to-day activities of the Trust but remains a strong supporter of TrackSAFE’s work.
Board of Trustees
Ian Ladd
Ian is the Managing Director of Transdev Wellington. He has been on the TrackSAFE Board since 2017 and was appointed Chair in early 2022. Ian has over 20 years’ experience working in luxury rail, aviation and tourism. Ian has worked across the globe with time in United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Prior to his current role Ian was in Adelaide where he was responsible for Great Southern Rail operations, including the iconic Ghan and Indian Pacific train services. Prior to this he was based in Dubai working for Emirates Airlines as a member of the senior management team responsible for the on board experience across the Emirates fleet. He enjoys operational focus, developing and introducing innovative products and services for stakeholder’s and customers.
John Skilton
John is the Programme Director Future Rail Systems at KiwiRail. Part of this role is developing strategies to identify and deploy technologies which will improve the safety and efficiency of rail operations throughout the NZ rail network. John is a Chartered Professional Engineer with thirty years' experience in railway engineering specialising in signalling, telecommunications and control systems. John has progressed through various roles within KiwiRail and its predecessors providing exposure to train control systems, telecommunications systems, asset management, project management and general management. John has had wide exposure to level crossings from the design of active protection systems through to risk assessment and standards development. John was appointed to the TrackSAFE Board in July 22, but has been involved in TrackSAFE initiatives for the past ten years.
Fiona Abbott
Fiona is the Manager Assets and Infrastructure for Metlink, the Wellington region's public transport authority run by Greater Wellington Regional Council, where she has responsibility for the management of public transport infrastructure and assets. She joined the TrackSAFE NZ Board in November 2020. Fiona has worked in both private and public sectors as a consultant in operational risk, including contract management, and the development of policies, procedures, compliance programmes, and management systems for both large and small businesses. Fiona previously spent 15 years at Transpower NZ in a wide variety of roles, including leading its Asset Planning Group for five years.
Anthony Fewster
Anthony is the Senior Manager, People & Process Safety at Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) and joins the TrackSAFE Board with experience in all aspects of the rail industry. Passionate about public safety, accessibility and sustainable transport, work with frontline operational teams at Metro Trains in Melbourne sparked Anthony’s motivation to help everyone be safer around trains. Anthony has worked in senior positions in passenger rail operations, rail and transport infrastructure, rolling stock manufacture and maintenance and has been involved in TrackSAFE programs in Australia for over 10 years. He was influential in the development implementation of TrackSAFE’s ‘Community Stations’ and Trauma Management Training for frontline teams at Metro Trains. Anthony holds degrees in science and nursing, which point to his affiliative and humanistic approach to safety.
Danny Broad
Danny represents TrackSAFE Australia on the TrackSAFE NZ Board. He has over 25 years of experience in the rail industry, was appointed as the Chair of the TrackSAFE Foundation on 1 July 2021 and had been a Director of the TrackSAFE Foundation since 2015. Danny was appointed as the Chair of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) on 1 January 2020 following over four years as the Chief Executive Officer of the ARA where he was responsible for all facets of the Association's activities, including policy development and advocacy, governance, membership retention and growth and the implementation of the ARA's strategic vision. For several years Danny held positions as a Director on the ARA Board, on the Council of the NSW Australian Industry Group (AiG) and on the board of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Stacey van der Putten
Stacey, Executive General Manager Public Transport Services, leads the development and delivery of a comprehensive transformation programme to ensure achievement of the organisation's strategic objectives and priorities. Prior to becoming EGM Public Transport Services, Stacey was EGM Safety and before that spent four years leading the Metro Services team at Auckland Transport, playing a vital role supporting the development of Tāmaki Makaurau’s multi-modal (bus, train and ferry) public transport network. Stacey is passionate about ensuring Auckland has a safe, accessible, resilient transport system which delivers real benefits to the people of Tāmaki Makaurau. Previous to AT, Stacey spent 20 years in the private sector, the majority of which was spent developing service solutions for various sectors, including public housing, healthcare, construction and defence sectors.
Ben Calcott
As JMDR New Zealand’s Head of Engineering, Ben is an experienced senior leader with a wealth of knowledge across the rail industry. This experience encompasses engineering investigations, inspections, commissioning, development of standards, asset management, and design for significant signal projects spanning across the last 16 years of his career. Having carried out the design and development of New Zealand level crossing and singling solutions in his time at KiwiRail, Ben has a keen eye for pragmatic safety conscious solutions. Ben was appointed to the TrackSAFE Board in July 2022 when JMDR became a sponsor.
Anthony McFadden
Anthony first joined the TrackSAFE Board in March 2020. As General Manager, New Zealand, Anthony has direct accountability for the safe and sustainable delivery of John Holland’s operations in New Zealand. With 20 years’ experience working in collaborative contracting environments, Anthony has held key senior management roles for numerous tier one contractors, with responsibilities including pre-contracts, tendering and operational management for various civil and complex infrastructure contracts across New Zealand, Australia and Asia. From 2016 to early 2019, Anthony was Broadspectrum’s General Manager - Urban Infrastructure, New Zealand, with direct responsibility and accountability for the safe, on-time and budget delivery of a portfolio generating annual revenues of circa $200m and overseeing a team of more than 1,000 direct employees across New Zealand; including holding governance and senior leadership roles with key clients.
Sponsorship
TrackSAFE NZ is funded by KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Transdev Wellington, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Auckland One Rail, Auckland Transport, John Holland, JMDR and Stantec. It also receives support in kind from TrackSAFE Australia, NZ Police and other local bodies throughout New Zealand.
KiwiRail
A state owned enterprise, KiwiRail operates freight trains and the Great Journeys of New Zealand long-distance passenger trains and Interislander ferries. KiwiRail is is responsible for maintaining 4,000 kms of rail corridor, bridges, tunnels, viaducts, overhead wires, signals and level crossings. It is also responsible for moving all the trains throughout the country through the National Train Control Centre in Wellington. The KiwiRail engineering team provides mechanical services to the freight and passenger businesses, and to Auckland Transport through the freight team. KiwiRail also builds, maintains and refurbishes rollingstock used on the network, including locomotives, wagons and passenger carriages. KiwiRail (and its predecessors) has financially supported TrackSAFE since its inception in 2006.
NZ Transport Agency
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s role is to improve New Zealand’s land transport system, which includes responsibility for regulating the New Zealand railway. It does this by administering the Railways Act 2005, licensing the organisations that control and use rail networks and monitoring accidents and incidents. The Agency is also responsible for promoting safety on and around New Zealand's rail transport networks. This covers aspects ranging from safe driving behaviours around level crossings to discouraging people from trespassing on tracks. Waka Kotahi has been a sponsor of TrackSAFE NZ since 2014.
Transdev
Transdev is a global private transport group that operates in 20 countries. It is one of the largest private transport operators in the world, with more than 86,000 employees. Transdev Wellington operates the Wellington passenger rail network on behalf of Greater Wellington Regional Council under the Metlink brand. The Wellington rail network consists of 154 kms track and has 49 stations across five lines. There are 83 electric multiple units (EMUs) and 24 diesel passenger carriages which travel over 3.2 million kilometres providing 14 million passenger journeys every year. Transdev Wellington became a sponsor of TrackSAFE NZ in 2017.
Metlink
Metlink is the Greater Wellington Region Council’s public transport authority which plans and delivers the public bus, train, and harbour ferry transport network to the wider Wellington region, including Wellington City, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Kāpiti Coast and the Wairarapa. The Metlink network has five rail lines, nearly 100 public bus routes, more than 180 school bus services and a harbour ferry service. The regional council looks after the local railway stations, bus and harbour ferry shelters, signage, and Park & Ride facilities. Metlink has been represented on the TrackSAFE Board since March 2016.
Auckland One Rail
Auckland One Rail is New Zealand’s largest passenger train operator, proudly operating on behalf of Auckland Transport, the Auckland Metro Rail Network since January 2022. The Auckland network delivers more than 21 million commuter rail journeys per annum. It provides 570 daily services, on 195 km of track and 40 stations, utilising 72 modern electric multiple units (EMU’s), with an additional 20 new EMU’s to be delivered in the coming years. Auckland One Rail is a joint venture partnership between ComfortDelgro Transit and UGL. ComfortDelgro is one of the world’s largest multi-modal passenger transport companies, with operations in seven countries including operating the two mass transit train lines in Singapore, and bus operations across several States in Australia and the United Kingdom. UGL is a consortium partner of Metro Trains Melbourne, Metro Trains Sydney, Canberra light rail and the Adelaide light rail network. UGL is Australia’s largest supplier of outsourced asset management and rollingstock maintenance services, with a fleet of more than 2000 rail vehicles.
Auckland Transport
Auckland Transport is a council-controlled organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council, responsible for all of Tāmaki Makaurau’s transport services (excluding state highways) - from roads and footpaths, to cycling, parking and public transport. Auckland Transport is responsible for the day-to-day activities that keep Auckland's transport systems moving safely and efficiently, such as managing public transport services or organising road maintenance. Auckland Transport also lead the longer-term planning needed to ensure Tāmaki Makaurau’s transport system meets our city’s evolving needs as we grow and develop.
John Holland
John Holland operates in New Zealand, Australia and South-East Asia, offering services in rail, infrastructure, property development and building. The organisation is a leader in rail project investment, design, construction, operations and maintenance. From humble beginnings 70 years ago, John Holland has been driving positive change in the Asia-Pacific region by finding people-centred solutions to complex challenges and opportunities across a wide range of sectors. Whether it’s safety improvements across the North Island’s rail network, to working on the Wellington Metro Upgrade Programme, or upgrading world-class motorways for Auckland – John Holland is in the business of connecting communities across New Zealand. John Holland became a sponsor of TrackSAFE NZ in March 2020.
JMDR
JMDR is an international organisation leading the global rail industry in New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, UK, India, and Southeast Asia. Founded in 2005, JMDR has grown to encompass a diverse team of skilled professionals with an abundance of real-world rail experience. JMDR is renowned for its quality turnkey rail solutions in domains extending from concept to completion inclusive of design, construction, testing, commissioning, safety assurance, and the auditing of projects. Safety is at the forefront of all operations taken on by JMDR resulting in a reputation for creating a positive impact on the ever-changing rail industry. As a team with a passion for all things rail and safety it was an effortless decision for JMDR to sponsor TrackSAFE NZ.
Stantec
Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.We care about the communities we serve—because they're our communities too. We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.
Stantec’s presence in Aotearoa’s rail sector is tied to our long involvement with level crossings. Our team was central to the development of the Level Crossing Safety Impact Assessment (LCISA) criteria that KiwiRail uses to measure risk at level crossings. Ultimately, this helps create a fair system where the highest risk crossings are upgraded first. It’s also the transportation industry's primary risk assessment tool for consideration of the risks created by proposed activities near a level crossing. At Stantec, striving for safer solutions is what defines us—so we’re beyond proud to be on board as a TrackSAFE sponsor.
TrackSAFE Australia
TrackSAFE in Australia is a registered harm prevention charity that aims to create a better workplace for rail employees by reducing near collisions, injuries and fatalities on the rail network resulting from suicide and reckless behaviour. TrackSAFE recognises that rail safety responsibilities extend beyond rail organisations to educational and community service groups, governments, health organisations, road user groups and the broader community. TrackSAFE forms close working relationships with key stakeholders across a range of organisations and sectors to deliver an all-of-industry and cross-industry approach to improving rail safety and minimising harm.
TrackSAFE Australia has its own constitution, Board of Directors and funding members with the Chairman of TrackSAFE Australia, Danny Broad, also sitting on the TrackSAFE NZ Board. A memorandum of understanding between both organisations recognises the common interests and commitment to promoting safety and reducing incidents on the rail networks in both countries.
For more about TrackSAFE in Australia, please visit: www.tracksafefoundation.com.au