Johnsonville Railway Station

Infobox Station
name=Johnsonville
type=Metlink commuter rail


image_size=
image_caption=
address=Moorefield Road, Johnsonville, Wellington, New Zealand
coordinates= coord|41|13|24.01|S|174|48|17|E|type:railwaystation_region:NZ|
line=Johnsonville Line
other=
structure=
platform=Single side
depth=
levels=
tracks=Main line (1)
parking=43 spaces
bicycle=
baggage_check=No
passengers=
pass_year=
pass_percent=
pass_system=
opened=1885-09-21
closed=
rebuilt=1984
electrified=1938-07-02
ADA=
code=
owned=Tranz Metro
zone=3 [cite web |url=http://www.metlink.org.nz/story21116.php? |title=Text description of fare zone boundaries |accessdate=2008-01-02 |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Metlink |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]
former=
services=
mpassengers=

Johnsonville railway station is the terminus of the Johnsonville Branch, a commuter branch railway north of Wellington in New Zealand’s North Island, and one of eight stations on the line. It directly serves the suburb of Johnsonville, but because it is also a bus interchange, attracts traffic from other suburbs to the north and east.

The station is situated beside the Johnsonville Mall, a major regional shopping centre, which also incorporates a Countdown supermarket. Numerous other businesses and organisations are nearby in what is a busy retail and commercial area.

Electric multiple unit trains are operated by Tranz Metro under the Metlink brand to and from Wellington.

History

The original Johnsonville station was constructed by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, and was completed in 1883 though it was not used until the opening of the Wellington to Paremata section of the line on 21 September 1885. Johnsonville was one of three stations built by the WMR on the section of the Wellington – Manawatu Line that is known today as the Johnsonville Branch. It remained a through station for freight traffic following government purchase of the line and its incorporation into the North Island Main Trunk Railway until 1935, and for passenger traffic until 19 June 1937, when the Tawa Flat deviation was opened to all traffic and the old line between Wellington and Tawa was closed. This event coincided with the opening of the new Wellington railway station.

Though the Railways Department wanted to keep the line closed, public pressure prevailed and the line was upgraded and electrified. The track between Johnsonville and Tawa was removed, and the new Johnsonville Branch was reopened on 2 July 1938, making Johnsonville a terminal station.

The station used to be a much more extensive facility than what is present today. In the WMR days, the station consisted of a platform, wooden station building, sidings, and extensive stock yards. The original WMR station building was replaced in 1915. Up to the last major reconfiguration of the yard, there were four roads beside the platform, the outer most of which served the goods shed, with a separate siding serving the stock yards. The track had been removed from one side of the island platform to make way for a car park.

Significant sources of goods traffic through this station included livestock and timber. Local pressure led to the transfer of livestock traffic to new sidings near Raroa station in 1958, though the Johnsonville sidings were not lifted until 1970.

In 1984, the yard was realigned to make way for an expansion of the nearby shopping facilities. The line was truncated; all sidings, ancillary buildings, and stockyards were removed; the platform was moved further south, closer to Broderick Road; and a new station building was constructed. These changes meant that there were no longer any "run-around" facilities at the terminus, making it difficult to operate locomotive-hauled trains on the line. A Countdown supermarket now occupies the former site of the platform and station building.

Services

Trains depart at half-hourly intervals for Wellington, supplemented by a 13/13/26 schedule at peak times on week days.

The following Metlink bus services terminate at or connect through this station:
* 53: Johnsonville West
* 54: Churton Park
* 55: Grenada Village
* 56: Newlands
* 59: Johnsonville – Porirua

Facilities

This station has a single side platform and station building, in which operates a small convenience store. It is also staffed on a limited basis for ticket sales. Behind the station building is the bus interchange and mall car park. Access is from Moorefield Road or the Johnsonville Mall.

References

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Footnotes

External links

* Train timetables from [http://www.metlink.org.nz/section10.php Metlink] and [http://www.tranzmetro.co.nz/ Tranz Metro] .
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Gov12_06Rail-fig-Gov12_06Rail031b.html Photo of one of the last main line trains to enter Johnsonville Station c1937]
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Gov05_01Rail-fig-Gov05_01Rail031a.html Scene from a locomotive cab while running downhill from Johnsonville c1930]