At the site of a derailment near Rukuhia, south of Hamilton, work to put a locomotive back on its tracks was in full swing on Tuesday morning.

After colliding with a ute at a level-crossing on Rukuhia Rd between SH3 and Gillard Rd on Monday afternoon, a DL locomotive and its three carriages had derailed leaving the engine partly off the rails and at a precarious tilt.

The train was a shunt en route from the Fonterra dairy factory in Te Awamutu to the Te Rapa marshalling yard, according to a worker at the derailment.

In total, about 25 kiwirail track workers, signal technicians and overhead lines electricians were tending to the derailment with plant and manpower.

An 11 tonne digger belonging to rail contractor Woods Contracting could be seen straightening a set of rails that split at a set of points that diverts trains into a passing loop, and several truckloads of rail ballast had been unloaded in preparation for the arrival of a crane on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a Kiwirail spokesperson, the 108 tonne locomotive had derailed such that a crane would have to be sought to lift it, and the trailing carriages back onto the track.

Near the level crossing a warped section of track could be seen.

About 25 workers were on site on Tuesday morning to tend to the derailment and put the locomotive and its waggons back on the tracks.

An alternative for smaller derailments is to use hydraulic jacks to lift and shift locomotives back on to the rails, although this is generally a method undertaken in flat, expansive rail yards.

In this case, a ballast pad will be laid from which the crane can manoeuvre and lift the locomotive back onto the tracks.

The site of the derailment is on the North Island Main Trunk line, and freight services between Auckland and Wellington will remain paused while work is underway, says the spokesperson.

A neighbour who gave her name only as Cathy, described the sound of the derailment as 'screeching and scraping.”

Simon Pleasants, a spokesperson for the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, says the Commission are aware of the derailment.

'The commission is aware of the derailment and is gathering more information to inform a decision about whether to investigate,” he says.

-Jonah Franke-Bowell/Stuff.