New Zealand’s Kiwi Rail discontinued its service of outdoor viewing carriages. This step is going to stop passengers leaning out of the train to take high-risk selfies.
The announcement of Kiwi Rail says, “In recent times, we’ve seen more passengers placing themselves in danger by leaning out of the viewing carriage to take photographs.
For us, the utmost priority is the safety of our passengers. Despite a number of safety signs and announcements on board, we’re still watching this happen and can’t omit the possibility of any tragic incident.”
Train travel in New Zealand is a scenic experience definitely. In fact each of the three scenic passenger rail journeys in New Zealand are unique. Particularly, the route from Picton to Christchurch (217-mile) and the Coastal Pacific railway route with its iconic vertiginous views of green mountains as the track embraces the Pacific coast, with an oceanic view almost directly beneath the train.
These make travelers leaning out of the carriages with cameras in hand and waiting for the perfect backdrop to snap their pictures. But most of the time they are unaware of an approaching tunnel with the possibility of causing any tragic incident for themselves, and others in the carriage as well.
However the viewing carriages are not completely disconnected from the trains because generators that power the train’s lighting, refrigeration, and air-conditioning are installed in each of them. The rail management is thinking of protecting the carraiges with glass windows, rails, or other form of barrier. Till then the service will not be accessible by the passengers.
