The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of
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 line runs for , connects the capital city
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 ...
with the
Palmerston North - Gisborne Line Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and B ...
at
Woodville, via
Lower Hutt,
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 metropolitan area.
Geography
The Upper Hutt city centre lies approximately 26 km north-e ...
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 first part of the line opened in 1874 between Wellington and Lower Hutt, with the entire line to Woodville completed in 1897. It was the only
New Zealand Government Railways
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...
route out of Wellington until 1908, when the government bought out the
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company
The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR or W&MR) was a private railway company that built, owned and operated the Wellington-Manawatu railway line between Thorndon in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and Longburn, near Palmers ...
who owned and operated the present
North Island Main Trunk
The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and se ...
section between Wellington and Palmerston North. The line originally included the famous
Rimutaka Incline
The Rimutaka Incline was a , gauge railway line on an average grade of 1-in-15 using the Fell system between Summit and Cross Creek stations on the Wairarapa side of the original Wairarapa Line in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The ...
, which used the
Fell mountain railway system
The Fell system was the first third-rail system for railways that were too steep to be worked by adhesion on the two running rails alone. It uses a raised centre rail between the two running rails to provide extra traction and braking, or brakin ...
to cross the
Rimutaka Range
The Remutaka Range (spelled Rimutaka Range before 2017) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east co ...
between Upper Hutt and
Featherston. In the mid-1950s, the line between Petone and Featherston was substantially realigned, with the line diverted to the east of the Hutt River between Petone and Haywards to serve new housing developments in Lower Hutt, and the construction 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 ...
to replace the Rimutaka Incline. Part of the former route west of the Hutt River has been retained as the
Melling Branch
Melling may refer to:
Places
* Melling, Merseyside, an area of Sefton, Merseyside, England
* Melling, Lancashire, a village near Carnforth, Lancashire, England
* Melling, New Zealand
Melling is a suburb of Lower Hutt, to the north of Welling ...
.
The southern portion of the line between Wellington and Upper Hutt is electrified and is also known as the
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 li ...
.
Transdev
Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.
History
The group was formed by the merger of ...
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 ...
runs suburban services along the Hutt Valley section, as well as the
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 KiwiRai ...
service between Wellington and Masterton.
KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise responsible for rail operations in New Zealand, and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail ...
runs regular freight services along the line between Wellington to Masterton and between Pahiatua and Woodville. No regular services currently run along the Masterton to Pahiatua section, and this section is currently under review as part of
KiwiRail's turnaround plan.
The
Labour Party promised during the 2017 election campaign to upgrade the track to improve operation of the
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 KiwiRai ...
, and on 9 October 2018 the
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
Phil Twyford
Philip Stoner Twyford (born 4 May 1963) is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party MP for Te Atatū.
Early years
Twyford was born in 1963 in Auckland ...
announced that the proposed $196 million for the region included $96 million for the Wairarapa Line; $50 million in the Wairarapa and $46.2 million south of the Rimutaka Tunnel including double-tracking the Trentham to Upper Hutt section. Work is to start in April 2019. The double-tracking will be completed in 2021. Other "infrastructure renewals" on the line include three bridges with timber elements and track renewal (including in the Rimutaka Tunnel), replacement of signals between Masterton and Featherston and upgrades to Upper Hutt.
Passing loops at Carterton and Woodside had previously been removed, leaving Featherston with the only loop between Upper Hutt and Masterton; the Carterton loop may need reinstating at some time for more frequent trains. The
New Zealand Upgrade Programme
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
announced on 30 January 2020 included passing loops at Carterton, Featherston and Maymorn and a second platform at Featherston. It is planned to have up to 7 peak services from Masterton at 15-minute intervals.
Construction
Proposals for railed transportation out of Wellington were made as early as the start of the 1850s, barely a decade after European settlement of the area began. In 1853 and 1857, investigation of horse-hauled
tramways was undertaken, but no action was taken.
Robert Stokes, a member of the
provincial government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, ...
, proposed a railway over the Rimutakas in 1858 and finally succeeded in gaining government interest in 1863. The Wellington Provincial Government established a committee to investigate proposals, and on 2 July 1866, it passed the Wellington, Hutt and Wairarapa Railway Ordinance. The act authorised a railway employing either or to carry 200 tonnes at speeds of , but construction did not commence as sufficient funds were not available in the fledgling New Zealand colony, nor were they successfully raised in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
In 1870,
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime mi ...
included a Wellington-Wairarapa railway in his
Great Public Works Policy and visited
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to arrange a loan to finance the policy. On this trip, he was approached by several contracting firms and a contract that included the first section of the Wairarapa Line was awarded to
Brogden & Sons. The construction of the line can be considered in three stages: the
Hutt Valley
The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...
section, the route over the Rimutakas, and the line through the Wairarapa via
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 ...
to
Woodville.
Hutt Valley section
On 20 August 1872, construction of the Wairarapa Line began with the turning of the first sod at
Pipitea Point, the site of Wellington's first railway station. Construction was delayed due to the difficulties associated with building a railway along the narrow, rocky shoreline of
Wellington Harbour, and the section to
Lower Hutt was not opened until 14 April 1874. Further difficulties were encountered in building the rest of the route up the Hutt Valley along the
Hutt River's western bank, including the need to divert the river and reinforce its bank in places. On 1 February 1876 the line opened to
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 metropolitan area.
Geography
The Upper Hutt city centre lies approximately 26 km north-e ...
. On 28 December 1877 the line to Kaitoke was officially opened by the Governor,. On 1 January 1878 the line to
Kaitoke
Kaitoke (sometimes called Pakuratahi), part of Upper Hutt City, is a locality in the southern North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Hutt Valley, 45 kilometres northeast of Wellington City and six kilometres from th ...
was opened to the public; becoming the railhead for the Wairarapa for nearly ten months (to 16 October).
Rimutaka section
![Fell Engine Museum - 2002-03-20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Fell_Engine_Museum_-_2002-03-20.jpg)
The Rimutaka Range posed a severe difficulty to those involved in planning and constructing the Wairarapa Line. On 1 January 1878, the Hutt line opened to
Kaitoke
Kaitoke (sometimes called Pakuratahi), part of Upper Hutt City, is a locality in the southern North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Hutt Valley, 45 kilometres northeast of Wellington City and six kilometres from th ...
at the western foot of the range, and a steep but manageable route with a grade of 1 in 39-40 was found from Kaitoke up the
Pakuratahi River valley to the site of Summit station, above sea level. However, from Summit down the eastern slope to
Cross Creek near
Featherston, a gradient of 1 in 14-16 was required. This was far too steep for regular
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s to handle, and accordingly the Fell mountain railway system was employed. This used a centre rail to which specially-designed locomotives and brake vans clung, allowing them to climb the steep slope upwards or control the descent. Despite the terrain, construction of this unique route was completed swiftly, opening to Featherston on 12 October 1878.
South Wairarapa section
Construction from Featherston to Masterton across the Wairarapa plains north of
Lake Wairarapa
Lake Wairarapa is a lake at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, east of Wellington. The lake covers an area of , and at its deepest is . It is the third largest in the North Island, fractionally smaller than Lake Rotorua. The ...
was relatively easy. The decision was taken to bypass
Greytown and build the line through
Woodside to bridge the
Waiohine River
The Waiohine River is a river of the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island.
At first it flows generally south from its origins in the Tararua Range west of Otaki. It turns south-east once it reaches the plain where it passes ...
at a point far enough up the river to be considered safe; a line through Greytown would have required a bridge at a point considered unsafe by the surveyors. The
Greytown Branch
The Greytown Branch was a five-kilometre branch line railway off the Wairarapa Line at Woodside in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand's North Island. It followed an almost straight course over flat terrain. There were no intermediate sta ...
was constructed from Woodside, and Greytown was briefly the effective terminus of the Wairarapa Line from the opening of the branch on 14 May 1880 until the bridging of the Waiohine a month later. Later in 1880, the line opened all the way through to Masterton.
North Wairarapa section
The northern Wairarapa was more rugged and isolated, and construction was slower and more difficult.
Mauriceville, north of Masterton, was reached on 14 June 1886, followed by the next to
Mangamahoe on 10 January 1887. The between Mangamahoe and
Eketāhuna
Eketāhuna is a small rural settlement, in the south of the Tararua (district), New Zealand, Tararua District and the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.
The town is located at eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges, 35 kilome ...
included the long Wiwaka tunnel, the only tunnel between the Rimutaka Incline and Woodville, and the section was opened on 8 April 1889. Construction of the section to
Newman was inexplicably slow, not completed until 1896.
Pahiatua
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, imagesize =
, image_caption =
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, image_seal =
, seal_size =
, image_shi ...
was reached in May 1897, including the
Mangatainoka River bridge, the longest bridge on the line at . Mangatainoka is from the bridge and the railway reached it in August 1897, and the line was finally opened to Woodville and a junction with the
Palmerston North - Gisborne Line Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and B ...
on 11 December 1897.
Branch Lines
Four
branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
s diverge from the Wairarapa Line: the
Melling Branch
Melling may refer to:
Places
* Melling, Merseyside, an area of Sefton, Merseyside, England
* Melling, Lancashire, a village near Carnforth, Lancashire, England
* Melling, New Zealand
Melling is a suburb of Lower Hutt, to the north of Welling ...
and the
Gracefield Branch
The Gracefield Branch is a 1.6 km long, gauge industrial line from its junction with the Wairarapa Line at Woburn in the Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island to its terminus at the southern end of the Hutt Workshops yard. Th ...
to
Hutt Workshops
The Hutt Railway Workshops is a major railway engineering facility in the Lower Hutt suburb of Gracefield in the Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island. It is state-owned enterprise KiwiRail's only workshops, and was opened in 1930.
...
, both still open; the
Greytown Branch
The Greytown Branch was a five-kilometre branch line railway off the Wairarapa Line at Woodside in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand's North Island. It followed an almost straight course over flat terrain. There were no intermediate sta ...
, closed in 1953, and the
Hutt Park Railway, which ceased serving its intended purpose in 1906 but survived in truncated form as an
industrial siding until 1982. At one time a branch line to
Martinborough
Martinborough ( mi, Wharekaka) is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of
The town ...
was proposed but this line never eventuated.
Deviations
Several upgrades and alterations to the Wairarapa Line have been made, but only the Western Hutt and Rimutaka tunnel deviations have significantly altered its route.
Hutt deviation
In 1925, construction began on what was then known as the Hutt Valley Branch, leaving the main line just north of
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 P ...
station and running east to
Waterloo, opening on 26 May 1927. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, new
state housing
State housing is a system of public housing in New Zealand, offering low-cost rental housing to residents on low to moderate incomes. Some 69,000 state houses are managed by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, most of which are owned by the ...
suburbs developed north of Waterloo, and the railway was extended to serve them. In 1954, it re-joined the western line south of
Manor Park and superseded the old route. On 1 March 1954 the former Hutt Valley Branch became part of the Wairarapa Line. The western route was truncated into the
Melling Branch
Melling may refer to:
Places
* Melling, Merseyside, an area of Sefton, Merseyside, England
* Melling, Lancashire, a village near Carnforth, Lancashire, England
* Melling, New Zealand
Melling is a suburb of Lower Hutt, to the north of Welling ...
from Petone, with the Lower Hutt railway station becoming the
Western Hutt railway station
Western Hutt railway station, formerly Lower Hutt (the official NZ Geographic Board name is still Lower Hutt), is an intermediate station on the single-track Melling Line in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, It is served by Metlink electric multiple unit ...
.
Silversteam deviation
The deviation included a new bridge across the Hutt River, replacing a section of line now used by
Silver Stream Railway
Silver Stream Railway is a heritage railway at Silverstream in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, New Zealand. It regularly operates preserved New Zealand Railways Department locomotives along a restored section of the Hutt Valley Line (part of ...
Rimutaka deviation
The Rimutaka Incline was difficult, costly and time-consuming to operate, but as the Wairarapa Line had become a secondary route since the acquisition of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway in 1908, its replacement was not a priority. Various alternate systems and routes were debated, with a tunnel chosen in 1936. However, the economic conditions left from the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
followed by the impact of World War II meant that work on the tunnel did not start until 1948. The Incline and the line up the western side of the Rimutakas closed on 29 October 1955 and the tunnel opened on 3 November 1955.
Operation
Passenger services
When the full line opened in 1897, passenger services from the Hutt Valley to Wellington were augmented by NZR's first express from Wellington, the
Napier Express (the WMR had operated the Wellington-
Longburn
Longburn (or Karere) is a rural settlement just outside Palmerston North in the Manawatū-Whanganui area of New Zealand. Made up of large dairy processing plants Longburn is often mistaken to be a small township and not seen as a large satellite t ...
portion of the
New Plymouth Express
The ''New Plymouth Express'' was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Wellington and New Plymouth. It ran from 1886 until 1955 and was sometimes known as the ''New Plymouth Mail'' due to the Ra ...
). After the acquisition of the WMR, the Napier Express was re-routed to the quicker west coast route in early 1909 and the
Wairarapa Mail
The ''Wairarapa Mail'' was a passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Wellington and Woodville, continuing on to Palmerston North as a mixed train. It ran from 1909 until 1948 and its route included the famo ...
was introduced to provide a regular service through the Wairarapa to Woodville. In 1936,
RM class Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...
railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...
s were introduced; these were designed to operate at speed over the Rimutaka Incline and provided a much quicker service to Wellington and local Wairarapa services. They originally augmented the Wairarapa Mail but replaced it in 1948. Carriage trains operated only at peak times of the year when the railcar capacity was exceeded; in 1955, the Incline's closure meant the Wairarapa railcars were withdrawn and
88 seater railcars were introduced, boosting capacity at off-peak times. One Wairarapa railcar has survived and is currently under restoration by the
Pahiatua Railcar Society
The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for posses ...
.
Mixed train
A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...
s also operated until the 1950s.
![Electric Locomotives Near Paekakariki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Electric_Locomotives_Near_Paekakariki.jpg)
In the 1950s, the Hutt Valley line was electrified using the 1500 V DC system already operating from
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 ...
to
Johnsonville and
Paekakariki. The electrification was opened to
Taita
Taita may refer to:
* Taita people, a Bantu ethnic group in Kenya
* Taita language, a Bantu language
*Taitā, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt City
* Taita Hills, a mountain range in Kenya
* Taita Cushitic languages, an extinct pair of Afro-Asi ...
on 12 October 1953 and Upper Hutt on 24 July 1955, allowing for a more intensive suburban commuter service to Wellington. Originally operated by
DM/D class electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
s and carriage trains hauled by
ED and
EW class electric locomotives, the carriage trains and many of the DM/D units were phased out upon the introduction of the
"Ganz-Mavag" EM/ET class units in the early 1980s. The
"Matangi" FP/FT class was introduced on the Hutt Valley Line in 2011–12, initially relegating the Ganz Mavag units to peak services only before being completely replacing them from 2015.
Railcar services were withdrawn in 1977, and carriage trains were re-instated progressively from early 1964. Until 1963, a railcar service operated on Friday evenings between Masterton and Woodville, and in December that year the decision was taken to replace the morning railcar to Wellington with a carriage train as over 200 passengers wished to use the railcar service that had a capacity of just 176. The final railcar service was replaced by carriage trains in December 1977; some of the carriage trains from this point until the mid-1980s were made up of de-motorised former 88-seater railcars known as "
grassgrubs" in
New Zealand railfan jargon. Passenger services through the lowly populated northern Wairarapa survived due to the poor roads in the area, but as they were improved, demand for the trains declined. Masterton – Palmerston North passenger trains ceased from Monday, 1 August 1988 with the last such service running on Friday, 29 July. In the 1990s, the service between Masterton and Wellington was rebranded as the
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 KiwiRai ...
and presently operates five times each way weekdays (with a sixth service in the evening on Fridays), and twice each way on weekends and public holidays. In 2007, eighteen new
SW class carriages were introduced to replace the
56ft carriages used since the service's inception; in 2013, they were joined by the six SE class to relieve capacity constraints especially on evening services.
The Wellington Metro Rail Upgrade project (2020-2021) started in November 2019; and is expected to take eighteen months and cost $300 million. The single-track Trentham-Upper Hutt section will be double-tracked and equipped for bi-directional signalling so that trains can run on either track in either direction between Upper Hutt and Trentham (and possibly later to Heretaunga). Signalling, track and three bridges will be renewed, and a longer loop at Upper Hutt will hold longer Wairarapa log trains. The work is expected to improve the operation of both suburban passenger trains to Upper Hutt and the
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 KiwiRai ...
.
Freight services
Until the acquisition of the WMR in December 1908, all NZR freight out of Wellington was carried on the Wairarapa Line. As soon as the western route became available, all freight that could be diverted off the Wairarapa Line was diverted, due to the difficulties created by the Rimutaka Incline. This meant that even some traffic from the northern Wairarapa was sent through the
Manawatu Gorge and down the west coast to Wellington. The opening of the Rimutaka Tunnel made the line more desirable for through freight traffic, but as localised freight gave way to containerised inter-city freight in the 1980s, the significance of the Wairarapa Line declined, especially on the section north of Masterton.
KiwiRail is currently investigating a log shipment hub in Masterton that would mean log traffic would use the northern portion of the Wairarapa Line, from Masterton to Napier.
In February 2012, it was reported that the total freight carried on the northern section of the line had increased from 74,031 tonnes in 2009 to 97,139 tonnes in 2011, although this figure was inflated by a ten-day closure of the Manawatu Gorge section of the railway line due to a slip.
Presently freight services operate at each end of the line. Log and other wood-related traffic is moved between Wellington and
Waingawa, just south of Masterton, with one overnight and one daylight return service on weekdays, and a daylight service operates both weekend days. Two freight trains operate from Palmerston North to Pahiatua and return on weekdays, the first in the early hours of the morning and the second in the afternoon. No freights currently operate regularly at weekends.
KiwiRail ceased running timetabled revenue services on the Masterton–Pahiatua section of the line in February 2015, transferring the Sunday Wellington to Palmerston North via Woodville run to the NIMT. However, they have undertaken to keep it open and maintain it to an operational standard, in part because it is still in use by heritage operators,
particularly the
Pahiatua Railcar Society
The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for posses ...
and
Steam Incorporated
Steam Incorporated, often abbreviated to Steam Inc., is a railway heritage and preservation society based at the Paekākāriki railway station, Paekākāriki at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, approximately 50 minutes north of Wellington on ...
.
Rolling stock
In the late nineteenth century, the first members of the
K class to operate in the North Island were transferred from the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
to work the Napier Express. They were augmented by members of the
M and
N classes. In the twentieth century, typical locomotives included members of the
A and
AB class. The Rimutaka Incline was almost always operated by the six members of the
H class built specifically for it. In 1906
E 66 was built for the Incline but did not prove as successful as the six H locomotives and was retired in 1917.
When the Rimutaka Tunnel opened in November 1955, the Wairarapa Line became the first in New Zealand to be fully
dieselised as steam locomotives were unable to pass through the tunnel. Initially,
DE and
DG class diesels were employed, and they were soon joined by the
DA class. Until 1967, the Wairarapa Line was the only way D
A class locomotives could access Wellington due to tunnels south of Paekakariki being too small.
In the 1980s, the DG class had been fully withdrawn and the DA class in the process of withdrawal or conversion to the
DC class; accordingly motive power on the Wairarapa Line changed. Until 2015, the DC class was the mainstay of the Wairarapa line south of Masterton, with locomotives of the
DBR,
DF/DFT and
DX classes occasionally used. In July 2015, the DFT class took over services on the line.
As of November 2021, rolling stock regularly used on the Wairarapa Line include:
Future
Improvements planned for the Wairarapa Line beyond Upper Hutt from 2021 to 2024 include track renewals with full renewal in the Remutaka and Maoribank tunnels, renewals of timber elements in three bridges, refurbishments of some level crossings and drainage and vegetation clearing.
In November 2021, Greater Wellington Regional Council proposed the purchase of tri-mode multiple units for the line, similar to
bi-mode multiple unit
An electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) is a form of a multiple unit that can be powered either by electric power picked up from the overhead lines or third rail (like an electric multiple unit – EMU) or by u ...
s used overseas.
= Electrification
=
Proposals have been made to extend the electrification into the Wairarapa and the Rimutaka Tunnel was constructed to allow overhead lines to be installed, although before opening diesel operation was adopted. In 2007, the Greater Wellington Regional Council rejected a call for the line to be electrified to Masterton, stating that patronage was too low to justify the capital expenditure.
In May 2021, KiwiRail, Beca and Systra published the North Island Electrification Study,
which put forward two options for electrification expansion for the Wairarapa Line from Upper Hutt to Masterton:
* Option 1: electrify the entire section at 25kV AC (same system as Auckland and central NIMT), with a voltage changeover at Upper Hutt;
* Option 2: use battery-electric EMUs with two 7km long overhead segments around Featherston and Masterton at 1600V DC.
The estimated costs of option 1 was $226m, with option 2 being $82m.
Signalling
The Wairarapa line used four of the six
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 ...
railway signalling
Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...
systems: ''
Double Line Automatic (DLA)'', ''
Centralised Traffic Control (CTC)'', ''
Track Warrant Control (TWC)'' and Station Limits. Signalling at Petone is future-proofed for conversion to a fifth system, Automatic Signalling Rules (ASR).
The Wairarapa Line had a number of lasts for railway signalling in New Zealand
*
Semaphore Signal on an operational line, these were decommissioned in 1996 however the masts (poles) remained in place until July 2014.
* Line controlled by ''
Tyers Electric Train Tablet
Tyer's Electric Train Tablet system is a form of railway signalling for Single track (rail), single line railways used in several countries; it was first devised in Great Britain by engineer Edward Tyer after the Thorpe rail accident of 1874, whi ...
''
* Manned signal box outside of a major station
Prior to the Trentham–Upper Hutt–Featherston section being transferred to Train Control in February 2007, this was the last section with CTC controlled by a
signalman
A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...
. Part-time signal boxes remained at Petone (weekday peak and inter-peak) and at Taita (weekday peak) until December 2013 and July 2014 respectively, when signalling was switched to Train Control in central Wellington.
Masterton is a unique signalling arrangement with Track Warrant Control ending at 'TWC Ends' boards north of the two-position home signal, which allows shunting movements to be carried out without the need for a Track Warrant. Along with
Horotiu
Horotiu is a small township on the west bank of the Waikato River in the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is on the Waikato Plains north of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and south of Ngāruawāhia. From early in the 20th century it devel ...
(on the NIMT between Te Rapa and Ngāruawāhia) Masterton still has Woods Points Keys. The Horotiu ones are not in regular use.
Heritage
![Carterton Railway Station 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Carterton_Railway_Station_02.jpg)
Seven
railway preservation
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
organisations are based on or close by the Wairarapa Line.
New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society
NZRLS has a workshop based at the northern end of the
Silver Stream Railway
Silver Stream Railway is a heritage railway at Silverstream in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, New Zealand. It regularly operates preserved New Zealand Railways Department locomotives along a restored section of the Hutt Valley Line (part of ...
where members restoring two
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company
The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR or W&MR) was a private railway company that built, owned and operated the Wellington-Manawatu railway line between Thorndon in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and Longburn, near Palmers ...
carriages. It also has an archives building beside
Ava railway station in Lower Hutt.
Silver Stream Railway
The
Silver Stream Railway
Silver Stream Railway is a heritage railway at Silverstream in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, New Zealand. It regularly operates preserved New Zealand Railways Department locomotives along a restored section of the Hutt Valley Line (part of ...
is a heritage railway in Silversteam, Wellington.
It regularly operates preserved
New Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...
locomotives along a restored section of the
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 li ...
(part of the Wairarapa Line), deviated in 1954.
Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust
The
Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust
The Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust is a non-profit, charitable trust in New Zealand that was established in 2003 with the objective of reinstating an operating heritage railway over the Remutaka Ranges using the original route of the Wa ...
is based at
Maymorn railway station
Maymorn railway station is a twin platform, rural request stop railway station serving the small settlement of Maymorn on the Maymorn Plateau, east of Upper Hutt, in New Zealand’s North Island. It is served by the Wairarapa Connection, and ...
and its ultimate goal is to return the Rimutaka Incline to full operational condition as a tourist attraction.
Fell Engine Museum
The
Fell Engine Museum
The Fell Locomotive Museum in Featherston, New Zealand, exhibits the only remaining steam-powered Fell railway locomotive in the world.
From 1877, locomotive H 199 climbed up the Rimutaka Incline using John Barraclough Fell's unique method of ...
is a short walk from
Featherston station and includes preserved H 199, the sole Fell steam locomotive (
NZR H class
The NZR H class steam locomotive was a unique class of Fell locomotive used by New Zealand Railways (NZR) on the Rimutaka Incline, the section of 1 in 15 (6.67 %) gradient between Cross Creek and Summit, over the Rimutaka Ranges.
Introduct ...
) left in the world. The museum also has a Fell brake van and other railway-related items of historical significance.
Woodside Station Preservation Society
The Woodside Station Preservation Society focuses its activities on the
Woodside railway station Building.
Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society
The
Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society
The Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society is a railway heritage and preservation community group in the town of Carterton, in the Carterton District of Wairarapa on New Zealand's lower North Island. The society has leased the Carterton railway ...
focuses its activities on the
Historic Carterton railway station complex, which includes a museum inside Carterton's historic station building,
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
in the station
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...
, and other heritage items.
Pahiatua Railcar Society
The
Pahiatua Railcar Society
The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for posses ...
is at
Pahiatua railway station
Pahiatua railway station is on the Wairarapa Line in New Zealand's North Island. It was opened in May 1897, shortly before the line was opened to Woodville, New Zealand, Woodville in December of that year. The station is located in Mangamutu, ...
, which is no longer served by passenger trains but maintained by the society. It has the only surviving Wairarapa and 88-seater railcars and is restoring them to operational condition; it also has an operational
Standard railcar.
Features
Stations
Private sidings
Currently the only private sidings in use are Jukken Nisho at Waingawa and Fonterra at Pahiatua. The sidings remain at Taratahi but the main line points were removed around 2003 (Ravensdown Fertiliser). Lime Works at Mauriceville are also still connected to the network but are overgrown and covered with lime. The former siding at Eurocell (Parapine) in Upper Hutt closed in 2012.
Extensive sidings at Petone, Naenae (where the goods shed remains, in non-rail use), Taita (Unilever) and Trentham (Army) have been closed and removed. Other former sidings include one used by oil companies between Renall St and Masterton stations; disused sidings at Mauriceville and Eketahuna; the Ngauranga Industrial Siding to an abattoir in the Ngauranga Gorge; and a siding to the
Featherston Military Camp
Featherston Military Camp, on a "windswept grassy plain" 3 kilometres north of Featherston, New Zealand was built —after the announcement of National Registration of all military-aged men— to supplement Trentham Military Camp on the other side ...
north of Featherston during World War I.
Tunnels
Nine tunnels have been constructed on the various routes of the Wairarapa Line. Of these, only three are now in use for railway purposes, and only the Wiwaka tunnel in northern Wairarapa (150m; between Mangamahoe & Eketahuna) has remained unaffected by deviations since the line opened.
Five of these tunnels are now part of the
Rimutaka Rail Trail
The Remutaka Rail Trail (spelled ''Rimutaka Rail Trail'' prior to 2017) is a walking and cycling track in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs between Maymorn and Cross Creek, and follows of the original route of the Wairarapa Line over ...
: Mangaroa, Pakuratahi, Summit, Siberia and Prices. The Rimutaka Incline Railway project hopes to incorporate these tunnels into its restored railway line across the Rimutaka Ranges.
Original route
From Wellington to Woodville:
* Cruickshanks Tunnel (120m)
* Mangaroa Tunnel (152m)
* Pakuratahi Tunnel (73m)
* Summit Tunnel (584m)
* Siberia Tunnel (108m)
* Prices Tunnel (98m)
* Wiwaka Tunnel (150m)
Current route
From Wellington to Woodville:
* Maoribank Tunnel (572m) (in the
Hutt Valley
The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...
)
*
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 ...
(8,798m)
* Wiwaka Tunnel (150m) Now No 3, between Mangamahoe and Eketahuna; summit 286m high
See also
*
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 KiwiRai ...
*
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 li ...
*
Palmerston North - Gisborne Line Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and B ...
*
Te Aro Extension
The Te Aro Extension, also known as the Te Aro Branch, was a short branch line railway in Wellington, New Zealand continuing the Wairarapa Line southwards. It operated from 1893 until 1917.
It should not be confused with the Te Aro Tramway, wh ...
*
Pahiatua Railcar Society
The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for posses ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
* pages 151–162.
*
* Mahoney, J.D. ''Kings of the Iron Road'' Palmerston North: Dunmore Press, 1982, pp. 81–88.
*
*
External links
1969 timetable*
Valley Signals
{{NZR Lines
Railway lines in New Zealand
Rail transport in the Wellington Region
Railway lines opened in 1874
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand
1874 establishments in New Zealand