The scenario was a crash in the Parera tunnel, 16km up the line from Wingatui, and involved the Fire Service, St John, police, search and rescue, civil defence, the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Victim Support, Helicopters Otago and the Taieri Gorge Railway.
About 150 people took part in the exercise, including people who played the roles of victims, next of kin and media.
Due to the very cold and wet conditions, a woman became hypothermic and was evacuated by rescue helicopter for medical treatment.
While the woman made a quick recovery, the Exercise Planning Group chairman, Inspector Alastair Dickie, said the exercise threw up some other unexpected "curve balls" and identified some deficiencies which emergency services would have to work through in preparation for a real-life event.
The rugged terrain surrounding the remote accident scene meant emergency services had to abandon their usual vehicles and use alternative means of transport such as road-rail trucks, 4WDs and helicopters to move to and from the scene.
"Some difficulties arose in terms of accessing the site, which meant delays in arrival at the scene for a number of the rescue personnel. However, these will be rectified for any future responses.
"Communication difficulties were also experienced in the initial stages. However, these were also resolved and the operation proceeded effectively with good co-ordination and control at the scene to rescue and recover the passengers and crew and convey them to the Helicopters Otago complex on the Taieri, where an incident control point and regulating centre was established."
Insp Dickie said the Incident Management Team worked well together and he was pleased with the overall response.
