Wellington’s Johnsonville railway line will be the scene of intense activity over the New Year as ONTRACK takes advantage of the quiet holiday period to carry out a heavy programme of construction and maintenance.
The Johnsonville Line will be closed to trains to allow the work to be done, and bus replacement services will be run instead.
About 130 staff will work throughout this time, while most other people are on holiday. Teams will work around the clock for almost six weeks from 28 December until 5 February 2009.
All seven tunnels will be made larger, three crossing loops will be lengthened, and a first tranche of platforms upgraded. During the shutdown, 18,000 tonnes of ballast will be laid and almost five kilometres of track will be removed and re-laid – which is 45 percent of the total length of the line.
Wellington Region Rail Programme Director David Gordon said the heavy holiday period work load is designed to get as much work done as possible with minimal disruption to commuter traffic.
“It is impossible to carry out the tunnel work needed on the line without creating disruption to train services – this is work that we simply cannot do while trains are running on the network. As we don’t have the option of sending trains on an alternative route we need to choose times to carry out this work when fewest people are using the services,” David Gordon said.
“I appreciate the inconvenience this will cause for both passengers and nearby residents and thank them in advance for their patience. I hope people can keep the end goal in sight while we do this work.
”This scale of activity will be commonplace on the Wellington network in the next few years, David Gordon said, as the programme of improvements extended to other lines. There will be similar, although shorter, shutdowns over public holiday weekends in 2009 and 2010.
The works are part the Wellington Region Rail Programme, a series of improvements to the Wellington railway system that will give commuters more reliable and frequent passenger services. This is a joint initiative between ONTRACK, the Greater Wellington Regional Council and Tranz Metro.
The Wellington Region Rail Programme includes:
- Extending electrification and double tracked lines to take commuter services to Waikanae;
- Installing power supply equipment and railway signalling to accommodate a fleet of new electric trains ordered by Greater Wellington Regional Council;
- Adding another line into Wellington Railway Station to reduce delays;
- Building additional train storage and maintenance facilities; and
- Improving a number of platform and station facilities.
The work on the Johnsonville Line is necessary to allow more modern trains to run. Construction activity during the holiday period will include:
- Removing rail and ballast in all seven tunnels;
- Digging out and lowering the rock floor of the tunnels then relaying ballast and rail;
- Lowering a bridge in Ngaio Gorge and the level of track under the Raroa Station footbridge;
- Extending the three crossing loops;
- Starting upgrades on Ngaio, Crofton Downs, Khandallah and Awarua St platforms;
- Relaying the surface of the Fraser Ave and Simla Cres level crossings;
- Necessary maintenance and renewal work on the line. This includes replacing rail and sleepers throughout Ngaio Gorge and between Ngaio and Raroa.
The work may affect parking and walkway access near some stations. Awarua Station platform will be closed during the construction period, preventing use of the Fox St walkway and the southern pedestrian crossing at Ngaio Station will be closed permanently due to the extended length of the station platform.
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