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 Paekakariki toward Waikanae Kapiti Line Plimmerton 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 Transdev Wellington 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 of the Matangi class. They were formerly of the DM/D class or EM/ET class. 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 the road into Pukerua Bay from Plimmerton. At one time a short service siding with trailing crossover on the down side was used to allow (steam) banking engines from Paekakariki to return down the bank.^[4] The station building once had 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 the 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 later introduced by the Greater Wellington Regional Council.^[5]

References

• Cassels, KR (1994). Uncommon Carrier - The History of the Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company, 1882-1908. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN 0908573634.
• Parsons, David (2010). Wellington’s Railway: Colonial Steam to Matangi. Wellington: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society. ISBN 978-0-908573-88-2.