Matarawa Railway Station

Matarawa Metlink regional rail
Station statistics
Address	Railway Road, Matarawa
Coordinates	41°2′55.78″S 175°26′53.31″E / 41.0488278°S 175.4481417°E / -41.0488278; 175.4481417
Lines	Wairarapa Line
Platforms	Single
Tracks	1
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	No
Baggage check	No
Other information
Opened	1 November 1880
Rebuilt	2007
Electrified	No
Owned by	Tranz Metro
Fare zone	13[1]
Services
ONTRACK     Preceding station   Tranz Metro   Following station Carterton toward Masterton Wairarapa Connection Woodside toward Wellington

Matarawa railway station is a single-platform railway station on the Wairarapa Line that serves the small rural community of Matarawa in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. It is served by the Wairarapa Connection, and has five services each way on Monday to Thursday, six on Friday and two on Saturday and Sunday.

History

"Vogel-era" class 6 passenger shelter shed.

Loading bank.

This station opened on 1 November 1880, when the line between Woodside Junction and Masterton was officially opened. Initially it had a shelter shed, loading bank and crossing loop and was used to cross trains until the introduction of signalling at the larger Wairarapa stations. In its early years several sawmills flourished in the vicinity, with timber making up a bulk of the goods loaded. The crossing loop and private sawmill sidings have been removed.^[2]

In 2006, with the introduction of the SW-class carriages for the Wairarapa Connection looming, it was proposed that this station be closed due to its low patronage and the cost involved in building a platform so that passengers could safely board and disembark from the new carriages. After vocal opposition from local residents, this proposal was rescinded.^[3]

This station was temporarily closed from 17 May 2007 to 4 June 2007 to enable construction work to proceed on preparations for the new carriages. The station was reopened on 7 June 2007 with a new platform (prior to the upgrade it did not have a platform).^[4][5][6]

Footnotes

1. ^ Metlink. "Text description of fare zone boundaries". Greater Wellington Regional Council. http://www.metlink.org.nz/fare-zones/. Retrieved 18 January 2011. 
2. ^ Cameron, Walter Norman (1976). A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN 0-908573-00-6. 
3. ^ Radley, Matt (27 March 2007). "Matarawa station to stay open". Greater Wellington. http://www.gw.govt.nz/story21809.cfm. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
4. ^ Radley, Matt (14 May 2007). "New Metlink Wairarapa train and Wairarapa station improvements". Greater Wellington Regional Council. http://www.gw.govt.nz/story22174.cfm?. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
5. ^ Radley, Matt (14 June 2007). "More new carriages introduced on Wairarapa line". Greater Wellington. http://www.gw.govt.nz/story22761.cfm?. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
6. ^ "Rail upgrades near end". Wairarapa Times-Age. 13 September 2007. http://times-age.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3748385&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 

External links

• Passenger service timetables from Tranz Metro and Metlink.
• Turner, Eric. "Help Save Matarawa Station". Wairarapa Greens. http://wairarapagreens.org.nz/?p=88. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
• "Matarawa SOS". http://www.matarawa.com/. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
• Matarawa - Save Our Station Protest. Matarawa, Wairarapa, New Zealand: mikerb. 21 February 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZEQECJJM9U. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
• CROMBIE, NATHAN (20 February 2007). "SOS call to save Matarawa station from closure". Wairarapa Times-Age. http://times-age.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3722645&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=. Retrieved 29 October 2007.