Pukerua Bay Railway Station

Pukerua Bay
Metlink suburban rail

Pukerua Bay Railway Station prior to its upgrade in 2010.
Location Takutai Road, Pukerua Bay, New Zealand
Coordinates 41°2′16.6″S 174°53′12.2″E / 41.037944°S 174.886722°E / -41.037944; 174.886722Coordinates: 41°2′16.6″S 174°53′12.2″E / 41.037944°S 174.886722°E / -41.037944; 174.886722
Owned by Tranz Metro
Line(s) North Island Main Trunk
Platforms Island
Tracks Mainline (2)
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
History
Opened 25 December 1885[1]
Rebuilt 1940, 2010
Previous names Pukerua (to 1923), Waimapihi (1920)
Services
  KiwiRail  
Preceding station   Tranz Metro   Following station
toward Waikanae
Kapiti Line
toward Wellington

Pukerua Bay Railway Station is located on the North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT) in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand and is part of the suburban rail network of Wellington. It is double tracked, has an island platform layout, and is 30.4 km from Wellington Railway Station, the southern terminus of the NIMT. It is one of two railway stations in Pukerua Bay, the other one at Muri being closed.

Services

Pukerua Bay 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. All services running between Waikanae and Wellington stop in Pukerua Bay.[2]

The commuter trains are operated by electric multiple units. These were formerly DM/D class units but are now units of the EM/ET class and Matangi class EMUs. Two diesel-hauled carriage trains, the Capital Connection and the Northern Explorer, pass through the station but do not stop.

History

The line through Pukerua Bay was originally part of the Wellington - Manawatu Line, built by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (W&MR). The W&MR was a private railway built as an alternative to the government's Wairarapa Line. The railway from Plimmerton to Pukerua Bay was constructed during 1885 under the no. 12 or "Pukerua" contract.[1] Pukerua Bay railway station was opened on Christmas Day 1885, while the full line to Longburn was completed in November 1886.[3]

Following the completion of the railway line between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki, the train station was called Pukerua. For a short time between 1919 and 1921, the train station was called Waimapihi, named after the Waimapihi block of land most of Pukerua Bay was situated in. In 1923, the station was renamed to Pukerua Bay to distinguish it from the South Island station Pukerau.

From the 1920s onwards, Pukerua Bay station was a popular destination for weekend visitors from Wellington, with a road from the train station to the beach opened in 1926, well before a road into Pukerua Bay from Plimmerton.

Pukerua Bay Station at the time had one siding, a station building with a long drop and three other buildings next to the siding. Sheep were driven along the now restored path through the bush at the bottom of Seavista Drive, to be loaded onto wagons at Pukerua Bay Station.

Once double-tracking of the railway line from Wellington was completed, the original station building was replaced in 1940 with the current island platform. The station's platform upgrade in 2010 raised platform height, bringing it into line with other stations on the network and added safety features such as yellow tactile strips and put electrical ducting in place to support a real time passenger information system to be introduced in future by Greater Wellington Regional Council.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Cassels 1994, p. 32.
  2. ↑ "Kapiti Line timetable". Metlink. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Cassels 1994, p. 40.
  4. ↑ "$1 Million Rebuild Of Pukerua Bay Station Set To Begin". Voxy.co.nz. 20 November 2009.
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