Paraparaumu Line

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Paraparaumu Line
Info
Type	commuter rail
System	Metlink
Status	Open, passenger and freight
Locale	Hutt Valley, New Zealand
Terminals	Wellington Upper Hutt
No. of stations	18
Operation
Owner	ONTRACK
Operator(s)	Tranz Metro
Character	Urban
Rolling stock	EM-class EMUs
Technical
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Line map Legend NIMT Wellington - Manawatu Line 48.26[1] Paraparaumu Proposed Raumati South station 38.80 Paekakariki NIMT Tunnels 3 - 7 31.23 Muri 30.35 Pukerua Bay 24.48 Plimmerton 23.16 Mana Pauatahanui inlet 21.87 Paremata 17.74 Porirua 16.16 Kenepuru Station 14.91 Linden Station 13.75 Tawa Station 13.05 Redwood Station Tawa Flat deviation (Opened 1938) 11.89 Takapu Road NIMT Tunnel 2 State Highway One overpass NIMT Tunnel 1 Hutt Valley Line (Part of Wairarapa Line) 2.55 Kaiwharawhara Thorndon Freight - Interisland Ferry Terminal State Highway One Johnsonville Branch (Fmr. NIMT) 0.0 Wellington

The Paraparaumu Line is the name given to the electrified southern portion of the North Island Main Trunk Railway between New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, and Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast. The Paraparaumu Line is part of the Tranz Metro group which operates commuter services in the Wellington Region ^[2]. Trains run frequently every day on the line, with stops at fifteen stations.^[3] Tranz Metro is the suburban rail system in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.

[edit] Construction

The Paraparaumu Line was constructed as the main line of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company's Wellington and Manawatu line between Wellington and Longburn, south of Palmerston North. It was built by a group of Wellington businessmen frustrated with the indecision of the government with regards to the construction of a west coast route out of Wellington.^[4] Construction of the line began in September 1882 and followed a circuitous, steep route via Johnsonville. It was opened to Plimmerton in October 1885, and on 3 November 1886, the entire line was finished, with the final spike driven in just north of Paraparaumu in Otaihanga.^[5]

On 7 December 1908, the government acquired the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, and incorporated it into the New Zealand Government Railways' national network as the southern portion of the North Island Main Trunk line.

See also: Wellington - Manawatu Line and North Island Main Trunk Railway

[edit] Deviation and electrification

See also: Tawa Flat deviation

In 1928, work began on a deviation to avoid the difficult Johnsonville section of the line. This deviation featured two significant tunnels from just north of Kaiwharawhara to south of Tawa. It opened to freight on 24 July 1935, but did not become part of the passenger route until 19 June 1937. Most of the Johnsonville section was retained as the Johnsonville Branch.^[6]

The line from Wellington to Paekakariki was electrified in 1940, primarily to avoid smoke nuisance in the new deviation's lengthy second tunnel, and to provide extra tractive effort on the line between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki. Paekakariki was thus established as a major station where trains swapped from steam (later diesel) to electric motive power, and it was the northern terminus of the commuter line for many years. Electrification was extended to the present Paraparaumu terminus on 7 May 1983.^[1]

[edit] Operation

From electrification until the 1980s, the majority of commuter services on the line were operated by DM class electric multiple units, with some carriage trains hauled by ED and EW class electric locomotives, particularly at peak periods. The ED and EW locomotives were also required to haul freight trains over this section until the tunnels between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki were lowered in 1967. From 1982 the new EM class electric multiple units were delivered. They had been ordered to replace the wooden carriage trains hauled by electric locomotives on commuter services. They also displaced the DM class units except for some peak services, and they are now rare on the Paraparaumu Line.

Hence by the 1980s, the ED and EW locomotives were not required for either freight trains or for commuter trains. They were retired due to age and lack of use, the EDs by 1981 and the EWs by 1988.

[edit] The future

A proposal to extend the electrification to Waikanae was approved by the Greater Wellington regional council on 8 May 2007. This project will involve the double tracking of the current single track line between McKay's Crossing (between Paraparaumu and Paekakariki) and Waikanae to boost capacity. The extension is expected to be completed by 2010, when new electric multiple units will be delivered.^[7] However proposals for new stations at Raumati, between McKay's Crossing and Paraparaumu, and Lindale, north of Paraparaumu near Otaihanga have been put on hold, to be reconsidered after 2010, as it was claimed that there were problems affecting a station at Raumati (the provision of access to SH 1 and park-and-ride facilities) and an unstable hillside behind the line. ^[8]

A further extension of the electrification to Otaki remains a possibility. The section between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki may also be double tracked or replaced by a less steep deviation during the first half of the 21st century, although the present proposal is to 'open' only the northenmost (No. 7) tunnel which is through rock, and have double track from there.^[9]

[edit] See also

List of Wellington railway stations

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Photos of Takapau Road Station
• Photos of Redwood Station
• Photos of Tawa Station
• Photos of Linden Station