This week's chaos on the Wellington rail network is completely unacceptable and was completely avoidable. There needs to be an urgent investigation that gets to the bottom of what has happened.

Thousands of Wellington commuters have been left stranded or forced into overcrowded trains due to KiwiRail’s inability to plan, causing significant delays across Wellington's commuter network. 

It just beggars belief that this has happened.

Wellington regional rail commuters deserve answers as to why and how KiwiRail allowed this to happen.

Why does KiwiRail have just one track inspection car? Why was it broken and why wasn't it fixed earlier? Are other tracks at risk of speed restrictions too? Why weren't the appropriate track inspections done earlier?

We need an urgent independent investigation to find out what has happened and what needs to be done - to make sure it never happens again.