A third main line into Wellington Railway Station is being installed to reduce delays for trains getting in and out of the Station.
Currently, four tracks merge into two main lines in the Wellington railway yards which feed the eight Station platforms. This creates a ‘bottleneck’ on the network which causes delays for trains. Removing this bottleneck is a major enhancement to the capacity of the Wellington network.
As part of the project to install the third line the related railway signalling and power supply is being upgraded.
The additional third line will be bi-directional, which means in the morning peak it will be signaled to allow trains to travel into the station and in the evening peak it will be signaled to allow trains to travel out of the station.
Construction timelineDuring 2009
- Dig foundation holes
- Erect steel traction poles to carry overhead wires
- Build a retaining wall near the Aotea Quay overbridge
- Install drains for the new track
- Start laying new track
- Install new signalling system
- Begin hanging overhead power lines
During 2010
- Commission new railway signalling equipment
- Connect the new main line into the existing tracks
- Connect new overhead wires
- Commission the new line into operation