Kaiwharawhara Railway Station
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| Kaiwharawhara Metlink regional rail |
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| Station statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Address | Westminster Street, Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lines | Melling Line Hutt Valley Line Paraparaumu Line |
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| Platforms | Island (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | Main line (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baggage check | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1874-04-20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1935 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | 1953-09-14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Tranz Metro | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 2[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Formerly | Kaiwarra | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kaiwharawhara railway station is a dual island platform railway station on both the Wairarapa Line and North Island Main Trunk in Wellington, New Zealand.[2] It is the first station north of Wellington on these lines, and is served by the trains of three lines from the Wellington suburban rail network: the Melling Line, the Hutt Valley Line, and the Paraparaumu Line. Wairarapa Connection, Capital Connection and Overlander trains pass this station but do not stop. All passenger services that stop at this station are operated by Tranz Metro under the Metlink brand.
Kaiwharawhara has a unique platform arrangement, not seen at any other station in the country.[3] Looking north, the two left-hand platforms are Up platforms and the two right-hand platforms are Down platforms. The two centre platforms are used by the Paraparaumu Line services, while the two outer-most platforms are used by the Melling Line and Hutt Valley Line services. Just north of the station, the two centre tracks climb an embankment towards the bridge that takes the line across Hutt Road to Tawa No. 1 Tunnel.
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[edit] History
Though the rails of the Wairarapa Line reached the south bank of the Kaiwarra Stream in July 1873,[4] it would not be until 14 April 1874 that Kaiwarra saw its first train when the first section of the line was opened.[5] Trains initially ran non-stop from Wellington to the terminus of the line, but a week after opening, on 20 April, Kaiwarra was included as a stop.[6]
Kaiwarra received its first building in late 1875.[6] About 1879, the station received a class 6 passenger shelter costing £160. At the time, it did not yet have either crossing loops or sidings.[7]
In preparation for the construction of the new Wellington station in the mid-1930s, and the closure of the old Thorndon and Lambton stations, new main lines were laid and connected at Kaiwarra. This work also entailed the dismantling of the Kaiwarra signal box and the installation of overhead wiring for the Johnsonville Branch.[8]
Early in the 20th century, the capacity of the Hutt Valley Line was constrained to such a point that it was decided to duplicate the line between Wellington and Lower Hutt. Preparatory work was started in 1903 with construction commencing the following year. The duplication finally reached Kaiwarra in 1909, but was not completed until two years later when it opened to all traffic on 4 April 1911.[9]
As recently as 1968, there was a fifth track running along the western side of the station, as evidenced today by the extra overhead wiring still in place, which was used to access a network of sidings that served an oil depot (just south of the Kaiwharawhara Stream), the NZR Signal Depot, and several local warehouses.[10] The station also had small passenger waiting sheds for each platform.[11] All of this has since been removed.
[edit] Services
Trains of the Melling Line stop here every hour, with half-hourly departures of trains for the Hutt Valley Line and the Paraparaumu Line, supplemented by express services at peak times.
[edit] Facilities
There are no shelters or other buildings at this station, nor is any car parking provided. Access is via a footbridge from Westminster Street.
[edit] External links
- Train timetables from Metlink and Tranz Metro.
- Julie Bremner, Wellington’s Northern Suburbs 1919-1945 (Wellington: Millwood Press, 1987) ISBN 0908582803, see 1934 photo of gang moving rails next to Kaiwarra Station on page 63.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Metlink. Text description of fare zone boundaries. Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ Notice of final decision to assign place names. New Zealand Gazette - Te Kahiti o Aotearoa 2470. New Zealand Gazette Office at the Department of Internal Affairs (1996-08-29). Retrieved on 2008-01-05. “6. North Island Main Trunk From Wellington to Auckland ... 28. Wairarapa Line From Wellington to Woodville ...”
- ^ Hoy, Douglas G. (1970). "The Railway Today", Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. Wellington: The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 77. “The station with its two long island platforms and four parallel running tracks is the only one of its kind in the Dominion.”
- ^ Cameron, Water Norman (1976). "Chapter 4: Construction and Operation, Wellington to Upper Hutt", A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 73. ISBN 0-908573-00-6. “It was not until July 1873 that the rails reached the south bank of the Kaiwarra Stream, ...”
- ^ "Chapter 4: Construction and Operation, Wellington to Upper Hutt", A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas, 77. “The Hutt Railway was opened this morning ... Thus did the Evening Post of 14 April 1874 record the opening of the railway ...”
- ^ a b "Early Years", Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington, 13. “Kaiwharawhara and Ngauranga became stopping places on April 20th 1874, but the first buildings were not erected until later in the following year.”
- ^ "Chapter 4: Construction and Operation, Wellington to Upper Hutt", A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas, 89. “At this time Kaiwarra and Ngahauranga both received sixth-class stations, costing ₤160 each. Neither station had crossing loops or sidings as yet.”
- ^ "Chapter 10: The Stations", A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas, 223, 225. “New main lines were laid and connected at Kaiwarra. ... The Hutt Valley main lines had been completely relocated and the Kaiwarra signal box dismantled. All new signalling equipment and underground cabling were being installed, and the overhead wiring for electrification of the Johnsonville line was being erected.”
- ^ "Chapter 13: Branch Lines and Sidings", A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas, 291, 293. “Surveys and preparatory work were carried out in 1903 and in the following year work began at Lower Hutt and Petone ... The duplication reached Ngahauranga in 1908, Kaiwarra in 1909, and finally Wellington in 1911. The entire double line from Lower Hutt to Lambton was opened on 4 April 1911 ...”
- ^ "Appendix D: Diagrams", Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington, 107.
- ^ "The Railways Today", Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington, 77. “A foot bridge leads in from the street and two small waiting sheds are the only facilities available.”
