Community Rail Safety Awards

Let’s make rail safety a shared responsibility. With the energy and leadership of young New Zealanders, we can save lives and protect futures.

Celebrating Student Leadership

Are you a secondary school student with a passion for keeping your community safe around trains and tracks?

The Community Rail Safety Awards are a new initiative from KiwiRail, TrackSAFE NZ, and Kaitiaki o Ara/Students Against Dangerous Driving (SADD) recognising rangatahi who are stepping up, speaking out, and making a real difference.

These awards shine a light on the creativity, leadership, and commitment of students who raise awareness about the dangers in and around the rail corridor and encourage safe behaviours at level crossings and station platforms.

Why does it matter?

Every year in Aotearoa people are hurt or killed in preventable incidents around railway tracks and level crossings. Whether it’s distractions from devices, risky shortcuts, or not

What do I have to do?

Whether you run a rail safety quiz, create videos or posters to share with your school, or get out and engage with your community, we want to recognise your mahi. We’ve got plenty of resources to help you get started, have a look at https://www.sadd.org.nz/rail-safety

Other ideas for initiatives include:

Creative campaigns – social media, videos, or art that communicates a powerful rail safety message
School-based initiatives – events or activities run in schools to engage students with rail safety
Community impact – projects that reach beyond school gates to engage the wider whānau or local community.

Who can enter?

The awards are open to all secondary school students (Years 9–13), regardless of if they are part of a SADD group.

What can I win?

Year 13 students: Two recipients will receive $500 Prezzy Cards

Years 9–12 students: Three recipients will get SADD 2026 Student Conference registration (valued at $185) + $150 Prezzy Card

How do I enter?

Send a short summary of your rail safety work (up to 400 words) to contactus@kiwirail.co.nz with the subject: Community Rail Safety Award Application. Include any photos, videos or supporting materials. Tell us how your project made an impact. See https://www.sadd.org.nz/rail-safety for full application criteria.

Key dates

Entries Open: 15 August
Entry Deadline: 30 September
Winners Announced: 1 November