Paraparaumu Line

Infobox rail line
name = Paraparaumu Line
color = 33CC00

logo_width =


image_width =
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type = commuter rail
system = Metlink
status = Open, passenger and freight
locale = Hutt Valley, New Zealand
start = Wellington
end = Upper Hutt
stations = 18
routes =
ridership =
open =
close =
owner = ONTRACK
operator = Tranz Metro
character = Urban
stock = EM-class EMUs
linelength =
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|42
el =
speed =
elevation =

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 [Tranz Metro, [http://www.tranzmetro.co.nz] ] . Trains run frequently every day on the line, with stops at fifteen stations. [MetLink, [http://www.metlink.co.nz] ] Tranz Metro is the suburban rail system in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.

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. [Geoffrey B. Churchman and Tony Hurst, "The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey Through History" (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1991), 164.] 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. [Churchman and Hurst, "The Railways of New Zealand", 165.]

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.

Deviation and electrification

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. [Churchman and Hurst, "The Railways of New Zealand", 168.]

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.

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 and DA diesel locomotives could be used into Wellington.

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 electric 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. From 2010 the introduction of the FM class EMUs will provide extra passenger capacity, and enable the remaining DM class EMUs to be withdrawn.

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 FM class electric multiple units will be delivered. [Adam Ray, [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4052544a6479.html "Rail Upgrade Gets Green Light"] , "The Dominion Post", 9 May 2007.] 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. ["The Dominion Post", 15 April 2008, page A5 "Railway station plans go on hold"] [ [http://www.metlink.org.nz/story27018.php metlink wellington bus, train, ferry public transport timetables: Metlink News - Issue 5, April 2008 ] ] [ [http://www.gw.govt.nz/story27016.cfm Greater Wellington - Kapiti Coast railway upgrade details revealed ] ]

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. [Terry McDavitt, et al, [http://www.gw.govt.nz/story_images/2647_HearingSubcommit_s5055.pdf Proposed Western Corridor Plan: Hearing Subcommittee's Report] (Greater Wellington Regional Council, 8 March 2006), 51-4.]

ee also

List of Wellington railway stations

References

External links

* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Gov06_07Rail-fig-Gov06_07Rail028a.html Photo of Auckland-Wellington Express between Porirua & Paremata, c1932]
* [http://www.tawalink.com/takapu_road_station.html Photos of Takapau Road Station]
* [http://www.tawalink.com/redwood_railway_station.html Photos of Redwood Station]
* [http://www.tawalink.com/tawa_railway_station.html Photos of Tawa Station]
* [http://www.tawalink.com/linden_railway_station.html Photos of Linden Station]