Tranz Metro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tranz Metro | |
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| Overview | |
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| Reporting marks: | TM, TRH, TNZ |
| Locale: | From Wellington to Masterton, Johnsonville, Melling and Paraparaumu |
| Dates of operation: | 1995—present |
| Headquarters: | Wellington |
Tranz Metro is the commuter rail system in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is a division of Toll Rail.
Contents |
[edit] History
In the 1980s the Auckland and Wellington suburban rail networks were part of the government-owned New Zealand Railways Corporation, operating under the brand name Cityline, then CityRail. In 1993 the railways were privatised, and renamed Tranz Rail in 1995, and CityRail services were rebranded Tranz Metro. Tranz Rail did not bid for the Auckland franchise when it came up for tender in 2004, and those services are now operated by Veolia. Also in 2004, a majority shareholding in Tranz Rail was bought by Toll Holdings of Australia and the company renamed Toll NZ. Despite this new ownership, Wellington services retain the Tranz Metro name.
The services are operated under contract to the Greater Wellington Regional Council, which subsidises the operation and any capital improvements to the stations and rolling stock. Typically 60% of that subsidy comes from central government through its land transport funding agency, Land Transport New Zealand, which approves such funding after careful analysis of the economics and net benefits, the remainder coming from the Council's property rates.
[edit] Services
| Line | Colour | Route | Length | Travel Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnsonville | Blue | Wellington ↔ Johnsonville | 10.5 km | ca. 21 Min. |
| Paraparaumu | Green | Wellington ↔ Paraparaumu | 48.3 km | ca. 56 Min. |
| Hutt Valley | Red | Wellington ↔ Upper Hutt | 32.4 km | ca. 50 Min. |
| Melling | Orange | Wellington ↔ Melling | 13.5 km | ca. 19 Min. |
| Wairarapa | Yellow | Wellington ↔ Masterton | 91 km | ca. 90 Min. |
Tranz Metro operates services over five lines:-
- Johnsonville — a narrow and winding route through the hills to Johnsonville, passing through the northern suburbs of Wellington. It was originally part of the North Island Main Trunk, but was bypassed in 1937 by two new tunnels. For more information see the NIMT tunnel and Johnsonville Branch articles.
- Paraparaumu — along the North Island Main Trunk line (the country's longest rail corridor) as far as Paraparaumu, passing through Porirua, one of the four cities making up the Wellington urban area.
- Hutt Valley — along the Wairarapa line through Waterloo in Lower Hutt as far as Upper Hutt, the outer edge of the Wellington urban area.
- Melling — along the Wairarapa line as far as Petone, then along the Hutt Valley's western edge to Melling. Until 1955 this was the route of Wairarapa line, which was then diverted through the eastern side of the valley.
- Wairarapa — diesel-hauled, along the Wairarapa Line to Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa. Within the Wellington urban area the trains do not stop at every station, leaving commuter service to Hutt Valley and Melling trains. The service is marketed as the Wairarapa Connection.
Until 2001, Tranz Metro also operated the Capital Connection service between Palmerston North and Wellington. However, due to the partial sale of Tranz Scenic to West Coast Railway shareholders, the service was transferred to that company. Despite later repurchasing Tranz Scenic, Toll Rail has kept the service as part of Tranz Scenic.
[edit] Motive power and rolling stock
Excluding the Wairarapa service, all Tranz Metro's services are electric. Wellington is the only region in New Zealand to have electric rail services.
[edit] Electric Multiple Units
All Tranz Metro electric trains are electric multiple units, commonly called "units". Most are two-car sets: one car is powered, while the other is not. There is a driver's cab at each end. For larger trains, units are joined together, giving trains of four, six, or eight cars.
There are two classes of electric multiple units in service:
- 44 EM class Ganz-Mavag units and 44 ET class trailers
- 14 DM class English Electric units and 19 D class trailers
[edit] Carriage services
On the Wairarapa Line, which is electrified only as far as Upper Hutt, diesel-electric locomotives haul carriage trains called the Wairarapa Connection. DC class locomotives have been used for this service since the late 1980s as well as DBR locomotives less frequently, and occasionally since the 1990s, members of the DX class. Rolling stock consists of former Second Class 56ft steel long distance carriages, most of them dating back to the late 1930s and early 1940s, which were also used on electric ED class or EW class locomotive-hauled suburban services prior to the introduction of the Ganz-Mavag EMU fleet.
These cars carry fifty-six (passenger saloon only) or forty-seven (passenger saloon with luggage compartment at one end) persons in two-person bench-type "Scarrett" seats.
Prior to the introduction of carriage trains, Wairarapa services had been operated by railcars since 1936, initially by the Wairarapa class and then 88 seaters from the mid-1950s.
[edit] New rolling stock
In 2006 Toll Rail's Hillside Engineering won the contract with Greater Wellington Regional Council to rebuild several sets of former British Rail Mark 2 carriages that were purchased some years ago by Toll's predecessor, Tranz Rail, to provide replacement rolling stock. These trains will be introduced in the following two years and provide a major upgrade to the comfort, safety and reliability of the Wairarapa service.
On 22 September 2006 the Regional Council announced [1] that it would begin the tender process for 29 new electric multiple units (reported as 58 "electric carriages"), to replace the DM/D class English Electric EMUs by the year 2010.
[edit] Future
The Greater Wellington Regional Council has undertaken a transportation study of the needs for the corridor from Wellington to its northern suburbs (including Johnsonville) and beyond. The initial submissions report [2] supports further investment in commuter rail transport, specifically in new rolling stock to replace the aging English Electric units. This investment is to be made within 'the first ten years' of the plan set out in the report.
The Western Corridor Transportation Study recommended extensive upgrades of the passenger rail service between Wellington and the Kapiti Coast, including a possible extension of electrification to a new station at Lindale or Waikanae, extending the double tracking from Mackays Crossing to Raumati, a new station at Raumati and additional rolling stock so that service frequencies could be increased to 15 minutes at peak times. The Regional Council is currently planning with Tranz Metro how to deliver this given the available funding from Land Transport New Zealand, its own rates and expected fare revenue.
[edit] See also
- Public transport in Wellington
- List of Wellington railway stations
- Rail transport in New Zealand
- Toll Rail
- Veolia
[edit] External links
| Rail operators of New Zealand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Toll Rail - Tranz Metro - Veolia - Taieri Gorge Railway - Tranz Rail | ||
