Napier - Gisborne Railway Line Passes Through Airport Runway: Facts

Story:

Napier – Gisborne Railway line runs through the Airport runway.

Other Versions

1. The Napier to Gisborne Railway Line is unique in the world in that it crosses the main runway of the Gisborne Airport.

2. Gisborne Airport: Where Train Tracks Cross the Runway.

Analysis:

Some pictures and videos surfacing online claim to show something unique, that the Napier – Gisborne Railway line runs through the main runway of the Gisborne Airport. Yes, it is a fact.

Napier-Gisborne Railway

The unique Napier-Gisborne Railway line in New Zealand passes through the Gisborne Airport main runway. The rail tracks have to be cleared by air traffic control room before the trains can cross the runway and continue down the line (shown in the video from timeframe 2:40). The Gisborne Airport is a small regional airport in about 160 hectares of land; with three grass runways and one main runway intersected by the Palmerston North – Gisborne Railway line. Interestingly, the Wynyard Airport in Tasmania also had similar railway crossing on the runway, but it is not operational since early 2005 after the rail traffic declined.

Somewhat related case, as reported by mail Online (dailymail.co.uk), the Gibraltar airport runway intersects a four-lane busy road, where vehicles and pedestrians are brought to a standstill as planes arrive and depart (see picture above).