| Tawa Metlink suburban rail |
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| Station statistics | ||||||||||||||||
| Address | Melville Street, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||
| Lines | North Island Main Trunk | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | Island | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | Mainline (2) | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| Baggage check | No | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 21 Sept 1885 (WMR as Tawa Flat) 24 July 1935 (freight) 19 June 1937 (passenger) |
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| Rebuilt | 1937 | |||||||||||||||
| Electrified | June 1940 | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Tranz Metro | |||||||||||||||
| Formerly | Tawa Flat | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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Tawa Railway Station, originally called Tawa Flat, is located on the North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT) and is part of the suburban rail network of Wellington, New Zealand. It is double tracked, has an island platform layout, and is 13.75 kilometres (8.54 mi) from Wellington Railway Station, the southern terminus of the NIMT.
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Tawa is served by Kapiti Line commuter trains operated by Tranz Metro under the Metlink brand. Trains run every thirty minutes off-peak, and more frequently during peak periods. A number of peak services run express between Porirua and Wellington and thus do not stop at Tawa Station.[1]
The commuter trains are operated by electric multiple units. These were formerly DM/D class units but are now almost always units of the EM/ET class. Two diesel-hauled carriage trains, the Capital Connection and the Overlander, pass through the station but do not stop.
The line through Tawa was originally built by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR) and the station opened on 24 September 1885. At this time, the railway followed a circuitous route via Johnsonville to reach Wellington, and Tawa was 16.48 km from the terminus. The original station was merely a flag stop located near the junction of Duncan Street and Tawa Street, at which trains would only stop if signalled to do so by passengers wishing to board or alight.[2] The original site was close to the location of the present Redwood Railway Station.[3]
The WMR was purchased and incorporated into the network of the New Zealand Railways Department in December 1908. In June 1909, the government approved ₤500 to upgrade the station.[4]
In the 1930s, the Johnsonville route was abbreviated and renamed the Johnsonville Branch as it was bypassed by the Tawa Flat deviation. This deviation offered a quicker route to Wellington; it was 3 km shorter, avoided the steep grades and sharp curvature of the Johnsonville route, and rejoined the original route just south of the present day Tawa station. The signal box was moved to the new station site, and the old station building was used as an addition to a local church.[5]
Freight services began using the deviation from 24 July 1935, but passenger services did not until 19 June 1937. On the latter date, the connection between Tawa and Johnsonville was severed and double track via the deviation entered service, allowing a more intensive timetable. The line through Tawa was electrified in June 1940, and on 15 December 1957, the single track north of Tawa was duplicated as far as Porirua.[6]