Is the unidentified man's name Alan?

The detective investigating a train incident on Friday that left an unidentified man with critical injuries sat by his bedside yesterday and told him that every thing is being done to find his family.

The man was hit by a train at Levin railway station just before 7pm on Friday. He remains in a critical condition on life support having suffered traumatic and life-threatening injuries. He will undergo further surgery today.

Detective Brenda Kelly said: "The man is not responsive, but it doesn't mean he can't hear me so I sat with him in ICU yesterday and told him we are doing everything we can to find his family so that they can be with him. The ICU staff have been just amazing; they are speaking to him constantly and giving him around the clock care."

Detective Kelly is urging people to ring their dads and brothers and to check on the welfare of friends and neighbours. Have you had a neighbour's cat turning up for food? Has one of your neighbours not been seen for a few days? Although the incident happened in Levin he could live anywhere.

Does the name Alan mean anything? It is a name the man mentioned when he was in the ambulance on Friday night.

"I don't want people to close off their minds to the fact that Alan must be his name as we don't know the reason he said the name, but it might be a name that trigger's something in someone's mind and helps us to solve this mystery," said Detective Kelly.

The man is described believed to be in his 50s or 60s and has particularly distinctive hair.

"This man really does have lovely hair . . . someone will remember his hair," said Detective Kelly. "It's a pearly grey with darker flecks through the back. It has a natural wave and is a full head of hair albeit slightly thinning."

He appears to be European, is clean shaven and wears dentures and prescription glasses. His skin is white with peachy tones and freckles. He is estimated as being around 5ft 7ins or 5ft 8ins and 90 to 100 kilos; stocky but not overweight.

He was wearing light blue denim jeans, a blue bomber style jacket with a zip front, a lumber-jack type shirt with a dark green check on a light cream background, grey socks, black loafer-style shoes and a black beanie hat with a silver fern symbol on the front.

Police are still appealing for witnesses to anyone who saw this man either on Friday evening's Capital Connect or on the platform of Levin railway station, as they attempt to piece together how he came to be on the tracks.

Police also want to hear from anyone who has found a wallet that may belong to this man.

"We have had a fantastic public response," said Detective Kelly. "Please keep those calls coming and let the Police decide whether the information you have is important. Every little bit helps."

Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is asked to contact Levin Police Station on 06 366 0500.