Talked about for years and finally approved in 2005 by the former Labour government, yesterday saw the opening ceremony at the new Waikanae railway station for the extension of the electric catenary 8 km from Paraparaumu, meaning that Waikanae residents can now catch the electric commuter trains all the way from there to Wellington (58 km) instead of having to change to a train at Paraparaumu.
Two of the new Korean built Matangi electric multiple units were there, but they are not planned to be in regular use on the line until July; in the meantime refurbished Hungarian Ganz Mavag units from the early 1980s will be the normal vehicles.
Accompanying the short extension has been a much more extensive programme including track duplication for nearly 15 km from MacKays Crossing north of Paekakariki to the Waikanae River bridges, upgrades to signalling along the whole line and refurbished platforms level with the doors of the new units. Wellington Regional Council chairer Fran Wilde said that all this including the new trains has cost $600 million.
The platform at Waikanae is still on one side only (the SH1 side) and the trains stop on the main line, so the turnround may need to be fairly quick. Doubt has been cast over the continuation of the Capital Connection train which runs from Palmerston North to Wellington in the morning, for those who work in the city, and back again in the evening. The KiwiRail chief executive said that it will continue for 6 more months before being reassessed. TVNZ news video
Timetable
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