![Upper Hutt railway station 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Upper_Hutt_railway_station_02.JPG)
Upper Hutt railway station is a suburban railway station serving central
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area.
Geography
The Upper Hutt city cent ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The station is on the
Wairarapa Line
The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand. The line runs for , connects the capital city Wellington with the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line at Woodville, via Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt ...
, north of
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, and is served by
Transdev Wellington
Transdev Wellington is the operator of Wellington's Metlink rail network in New Zealand. The entity is a partnership of Transdev Australasia and Hyundai Rotem, who were awarded the contract to operate and maintain the commuter rail system in De ...
on behalf of the
Greater Wellington Regional Council
Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environ ...
. The station is the northern terminus for the electrified
Hutt Valley Line
The Hutt Valley Line is the electrified train service operated by Transdev Wellington on behalf of Metlink on the section of the Wairarapa Line railway between Wellington and Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
History Construction
The Hutt Valley lin ...
to and from Wellington. The diesel-hauled
Wairarapa Connection
The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Transdev (with KiwiRail sub ...
stops at Upper Hutt on its route between Wellington and
Masterton
Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...
.
The station opened with the line from Wellington in February 1876, and was substantially rebuilt in 1955 with electrification to Upper Hutt. In 2015, the station was upgraded with a new station building and refurbished platforms. The station has two platforms, a side platform on the main line and a bay platform on a spur off the main line. Overnight storage of electric multiple units is provided in fenced sidings adjacent to the station.
As part of the 2020-2021 Wellington Metro Rail Upgrade with double tracking of the single track section from Trentham to Upper Hutt (as proposed in the 20112012 Regional Rail Plan (RRP) handling of two trains at the same time will be improved by adding two new crossovers from the main platform to the inner loop track (there is also a second or outer loop track). The inner loop track will be extended to the north with a new north end crossover to it so that long Wairarapa log trains can be ”parked” out of the way of passenger trains.
History
Construction of the Wairarapa Line to Upper Hutt was covered by the River Contract, which was let to contractor Charles McKirdy. The rails reached Upper Hutt in January 1876. Severe flooding at the end of January caused the road between Upper Hutt and Taita to become blocked and damaged, and so to minimise the impact caused by delays to road traffic, the Upper Hutt station was opened on 1 February, despite the concerns of the Public Works Department that the move was premature. The station was not ready for business, as the station and ancillary buildings had not been completed. However, the line and station were handed over to the Provincial Council to run while construction of the line beyond Upper Hutt commenced.
With the line open as far as Upper Hutt, traffic began to increase. Goods traffic initially consisted mostly of timber, followed closely by wool. Passenger services consisted of three weekday return services to Wellington. One effect of the introduction of services between Wellington and Upper Hutt was the reduction in road coach services, which, from the north, terminated at Upper Hutt. Goods wagons, however, continued on to Wellington. Still, railway traffic benefited by a 50% increase due to the establishment of the railhead at Upper Hutt.
The year the station opened, it gained a fourth-class station building, goods shed, coal store, an engine shed and two water tanks for the sum of £2,040. In 1955, as part of the station upgrading programme for the imminent arrival of electric multiple unit working of the Hutt Valley Line, a new station building was erected at Upper Hutt.
While trains only operated as far north as Upper Hutt, they were not protected by fixed signals. It was felt that as services were few, slow, and operated only in daylight hours, signals were not necessary. Upper Hutt was one of the first stations on the Wairarapa Line to receive signals, with initial instructions requiring south-bound trains to wait in the siding or loop, and north-bound trains to take the main line. These signals were first listed in the working timetables of 1887. By 1921, increased traffic was causing operational issues, and it was decided to install new automatic signalling which had been recently developed in the United States. Work began in 1921, and by early 1923 was operating between Wellington and Upper Hutt.
In 1955, with the opening of the
Rimutaka Tunnel
The Remutaka Tunnel (spelled Rimutaka Tunnel before 2017) is a railway tunnel through New Zealand's Remutaka Range, between Maymorn, near Upper Hutt, and Featherston, on the Wairarapa Line.
The tunnel, which was opened to traffic on 3 November ...
and deviation, a Centralised Traffic Control system was installed at Upper Hutt station to control main line points and signals between Trentham and Featherston inclusive. However, only one crossover (18) and four signals (8, 23, 23A and 29) at Trentham could be controlled from Upper Hutt; the remainder, which were typically only used on race days at the adjacent Trentham Racecourse, were controlled by a panel at Trentham itself. The semaphore signals were replaced with three-colour searchlight signals. On 6 February 2007, the Upper Hutt signal box was decommissioned and control of the line from Trentham to Featherston was moved to Train Control in central Wellington.
All locomotive hauled passenger trains between Wellington and Upper Hutt were replaced with electric multiple units from 24 July 1955.
2015 rebuild
Greater Wellington Regional Council adopted the regional public transport plan in June 2014 that includes a provision for the upgrade of Upper Hutt station.
Work rebuilding the station commenced on 5 January 2015, starting with upgrading the platform south of the station building. The platform was resealed, services upgraded, and two "butterfly" shelters were installed. The ticket office and staff facilities moved to portable buildings on 11 May 2015, coinciding with the completion of the platform work. Work on
asbestos removal
In construction, asbestos abatement is a set of procedures designed to control the release of asbestos fibers from asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos abatement is utilized during general construction in areas containing asbestos materials, p ...
started shortly afterwards in preparation for demolition.
The new station opened in December 2015.
In 2016 the provision of 94 additional parking places was announced at a cost of $550,000; an increase from 228 to 322 places.
Services
Rail
Metlink operates Hutt Valley Line electric suburban services between Wellington and Upper Hutt. It also operates the Wairarapa Connection diesel-hauled service between Wellington and Masterton via Upper Hutt. The basic daytime off-peak timetable is:
*3 tph to Wellington, stopping all stations
*Two Wairarapa Connection services to Wellington, stopping Waterloo and Petone only.
*Two Wairarapa Connection services to Masterton, stopping all stations.
The basic morning peak timetable is:
*3 tph to Wellington, stopping all stations to Taita then Waterloo only.
*Three Wairarapa Connection services to Wellington, stopping Waterloo and Petone only.
Bus
Metlink bus routes 110 (
Petone
Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach".
Europeans first settled in Pe ...
to
Emerald Hill), 111 (to
Totara Park
''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...
), 113 (to
Riverstone Terraces
Riverstone Terraces (commonly referred to as simply 'Riverstone') is a suburb of Upper Hutt in the Hutt Valley, New Zealand, Hutt Valley of New Zealand's North Island, perched on a hill previously known as Craig's Flat, above the Hutt River, New ...
), 112 (to
Te Mārua
Te Mārua (previously also known as Te Marua) is the easternmost urban suburb of Upper Hutt. For reasons of location and distance from the city, the area is often classified as rural. Te Mārua is well known for its Plateau Reserve where remna ...
), 114 (to
Trentham via Poets Block) and 115 (to
Pinehaven
Pinehaven is a suburb of Upper Hutt City in the lower North Island of New Zealand, established in 1927. It is at the southern end of the city, within the pine covered hills east of Silverstream.
Pinehaven is a valley centred on a large reser ...
) serve Upper Hutt station.
Gallery
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 01.JPG, Upper Hutt railway station car park.
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 04.JPG, Looking south from Upper Hutt station platform. The dock is to the right, the main line to the left of the platform, and the crossing loop at far left. To the left of the crossing loop is the southern entrance to the EMU storage area.
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 06.JPG, Upper Hutt railway station dock platform terminus (at buffer) in front of the railway station building. The blue boxes on the platform are cycle storage lockers.
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 07.JPG, EMU storage area and row sidings at Upper Hutt railway station in a fenced part of the station yard. In the foreground are the crossing loop (left), and main line (right).
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 05.JPG, Looking north along the Upper Hutt railway station platform. To the left is the dock and to the right are the main line and crossing loop. Behind the fence (right) is the EMU storage area. In the background is the station building (centre), and neighbouring big-format retailers (right).
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 08.JPG, Neighbouring big-format retailers at Upper Hutt railway station, from foreground to background: Briscoes, Wellington Beds, Big Save Furniture, Mitre 10 Mega
Image:Upper Hutt railway station 03.JPG, Bus terminal
References
Further reading
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*
External links
* Passenger service timetables fro
Metlinkan
Tranz Metro
*
*
{{Wairarapa Line stations
Public transport in the Wellington Region
Buildings and structures in Upper Hutt
Rail transport in Wellington
Railway stations in New Zealand
Railway stations opened in 1876