Kaiwharawhara Railway Station

Kaiwharawhara
Metlink regional rail
Station statistics
Address Westminster Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Lines Melling Line
Hutt Valley Line
Kapiti Line
Platforms Island (2)
Tracks Main line (4)
Parking No
Bicycle facilities No
Baggage check No
Other information
Opened 1874-04-20
Rebuilt 1911, 1935
Electrified June 1940
Owned by Greater Wellington Regional Council
Fare zone 2[1]
Formerly Kaiwarra
Services
    ONTRACK    
Preceding station   Tranz Metro   Following station
toward Melling
 Melling Line
Terminus
toward Upper Hutt
 Hutt Valley Line
toward Waikanae
 Kapiti Line

Kaiwharawhara railway station is a dual island platform railway station on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) and the Wairarapa Line in Wellington, New Zealand.[2] It is the first station north of Wellington, and is served by trains operated by Tranz Metro as part of the Metlink network on the Melling Line, the Hutt Valley Line and the Kapiti Line. Three diesel-hauled carriage trains, the Wairarapa Connection, Capital Connection and Overlander services pass through the station but do not stop.

Kaiwharawhara has a unique platform arrangement for New Zealand.[3] Looking north, the left-hand island platform is for up trains, the right-hand for down trains. The inner faces are used by Kapiti Line services on the NIMT, the outer faces by Melling Line and Hutt Valley Line services on the Wairarapa Line. Just north of the station the NIMT climbs an embankment towards the bridge that takes it across the up Wairarapa Line track and Hutt Road to Tawa No. 1 Tunnel.

Contents

History

The Wairarapa Line reached the south bank of the Kaiwarra Stream in July 1873,[4] and this section of line opened on 14 April 1874.[5] Trains initially ran non-stop from Wellington, but on 20 April Kaiwarra opened 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. It did not have either crossing loops or sidings.[7]

Early in the 20th century it was decided to duplicate the line between Wellington and Lower Hutt. Preparatory work was started in 1903 with construction commencing the following year, reaching Kaiwarra in 1909 and Wellington on 4 April 1911.[8] A new station building designed by George Troup was erected in 1911.

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 lines were laid through Kaiwarra and Kaiwarra signal box was dismantled.[9]

The station was renamed from Kaiwarra to Kaiwharawhara from 9 February 1951 by a decision of the New Zealand Geographic Board [10]

In 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, used to access an oil depot (just south of the Kaiwharawhara Stream), the NZR Signals Depot and several warehouses.[11] There were small waiting sheds on each platform.[12] All has been removed.

Services

Off-peak trains stop here half-hourly on the Hutt Valley and Kapiti Lines, hourly on the Melling Line.

Facilities

There are no shelters or other buildings nor any dedicated car parking. Access is via a footbridge from Westminster Street.

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Text description of fare zone boundaries". Greater Wellington Regional Council. http://www.metlink.org.nz/story21116.php?. Retrieved 2007-11-27. 
  2. ^ "Notice of final decision to assign place names". New Zealand Gazette - Te Kahiti o Aotearoa. New Zealand Gazette Office at the Department of Internal Affairs. 1996-08-29. pp. 2470. http://online.gazette.govt.nz/MSOS118/On-Line/NZGazette.nsf/6cee7698a9bbc7cfcc256d510059ed0b/2b557a3930b87496cc256d250014aa1b?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2008-01-05. "6. North Island Main Trunk From Wellington to Auckland ... 28. Wairarapa Line From Wellington to Woodville ..." 
  3. ^ Hoy, Douglas G. (1970). "The Railway Today". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. Wellington: The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. pp. 77. "The station with its two long island platforms and four parallel running tracks is the only one of its kind in the Dominion." 
  4. ^ 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. pp. 73. ISBN 0-908573-00-6. "It was not until July 1873 that the rails reached the south bank of the Kaiwarra Stream, ..." 
  5. ^ "Chapter 4: Construction and Operation, Wellington to Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. pp. 77. "The Hutt Railway was opened this morning ... Thus did the Evening Post of 14 April 1874 record the opening of the railway ..." 
  6. ^ a b "Early Years". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. pp. 13. "Kaiwharawhara and Ngauranga became stopping places on April 20th 1874, but the first buildings were not erected until later in the following year." 
  7. ^ "Chapter 4: Construction and Operation, Wellington to Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. pp. 89. "At this time Kaiwarra and Ngahauranga both received sixth-class stations, costing ₤160 each. Neither station had crossing loops or sidings as yet." 
  8. ^ "Chapter 13: Branch Lines and Sidings". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. pp. 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 ..." 
  9. ^ "Chapter 10: The Stations". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. pp. 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." 
  10. ^ New Zealand Railway Observer volume 18, January-February 1951 page 17
  11. ^ "Appendix D: Diagrams". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. pp. 107. 
  12. ^ "The Railways Today". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. pp. 77. "A foot bridge leads in from the street and two small waiting sheds are the only facilities available." 

External links

Stations on the Wairarapa Line
Original route
Te Aro • Lambton • Kaiwarra • Ngahauranga • Petone • Lower Hutt • Melling • Belmont • Andrews • Pitcaithly's • Haywards • Silverstream Bridge • Silverstream • Heretaunga • Trentham • Wallaceville • Upper Hutt • Mangaroa • Kaitoke • Summit • Cross Creek • Pigeon Bush • Featherston • Fernside • Woodside Junction • Matarawa • Dalefield • Carterton • Clareville • Middleton • Waingawa • Solway • Renall Street • Masterton • Opaki • Kopuaranga • Mauriceville • Mangamahoe • Eketahuna • Newman • Hukanui • Mangamaire • Konini • Pahiatua • Mangatainoka • Ngawapurua • Woodville
Current route
Wellington • Kaiwharawhara • Ngauranga • Petone • Ava • Woburn • Waterloo • Epuni • Naenae • Wingate • Taita • Pomare • Manor Park • Silverstream • Heretaunga • Trentham • Wallaceville • Upper Hutt • Maymorn • Featherston • Fernside • Woodside • Matarawa • Dalefield • Carterton • Clareville • Middleton • Waingawa • Solway • Renall Street • Masterton • Opaki • Kopuaranga • Mauriceville • Mangamahoe • Eketahuna • Newman • Hukanui • Mangamaire • Konini • Pahiatua • Mangatainoka • Ngawapurua • Woodville
Bold indicates stations at which the Wairarapa Connection stops • Italics indicates stations that have closed to passengers