A two-year wait for an apology from KiwiRail is finally over for an Australian tourist injured after being thrown from Dunedin's pedestrian overbridge when it was struck by a passing freight train.
And the Dunedin City Council's wait for reimbursement for the $272,255 cost of repairs to the bridge is also over, after it was confirmed yesterday the council had reached a settlement with KiwiRail and Port Otago.
The companies had agreed to each pay the council a share of the cost of replacing the damaged bridge, Port Otago and KiwiRail staff confirmed when contacted.
However, exact details of the settlement package remained a closely guarded secret yesterday, and it appeared a complete account of what caused the February 12 accident - and which of the parties was to blame - might also remain a mystery indefinitely.
KiwiRail spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said the settlement details were confidential, and would not elaborate on the exact cause of the accident.
"You'd be asking me to break the terms of the settlement. I'm not in a position to do so.
"I don't know if anybody in the end has accepted . . . who exactly is at fault," he said.
Instead, he would only reiterate earlier comments - made in December last year - that the load had not been "adequately prepared".
The accident happened on February 12, 2008, when a collapsible metal flap on the container of a passing freight train popped up, striking the pedestrian overbridge and partly demolishing it.
KiwiRail - at the time owned by Toll - owned the train and employed its crew, while South Freight, a division of Port Otago, loaded the container.
The ownership of the container was not clear, although there were claims it was Chinese-owned and leased for use in New Zealand.
No complete public account of what caused the flap to pop up - mechanical failure or human error - was ever given, as finger-pointing between the parties over liability dragged on.
Contacted yesterday, Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket also refused to say whether a mechanical error, or a mistake by loading staff at South Freight - a division of Port Otago - was to blame for the accident.
"I can't comment on that. There's probably no need now ... that won't change things," he said.
Mr Plunket said Port Otago had agreed to pay a share of the settlement with the council, but would not say how much.
Late last month, Thu Bui, one of two Australian tourists using the bridge at the time of the accident, contacted the Otago Daily Times to say her daughter, Chau Bui, had finally received an apology from KiwiRail.
Mrs Bui had watched in horror as her daughter was thrown from the bridge by the force of the accident, receiving minor injuries which required treatment at Dunedin Hospital.
She first contacted the ODT in December 2009 to say she and her daughter were the "forgotten victims" of the incident, having been ignored by all parties involved.
She provided a copy of the April 14 apology from KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn, apologising on behalf of the company and its predecessor, Toll New Zealand, for the accident and the company's delayed response.
"I can only surmise those involved at the time did not take the matter further because they were relieved at reports that you had suffered only minor injuries and they became preoccupied with operational matters.
"I accept that those involved should have demonstrated a greater interest in your safety and welfare," it said.
Mr Quinn offered free travel on the company's rail and interisland ferry services, should the pair wish to return to New Zealand.
The apology seemed "not very sincere and thoughtful to me", Mrs Bui said.
"To me, they are not genuinely sorrowful for their actions."
