The refurbished Epuni Station on the Hutt Valley Line and the extended Khandallah Station platforms on the Johnsonville Line will re-open to passengers on Tuesday 22 September.
Wellington Region Rail Programme Director David Gordon thanked passengers for their patience during construction.
“It certainly isn’t easy to rebuild the rail network at the same time as keeping train services running,” David Gordon said. “But we’ve been working hard to complete this work so passengers can have full use of the Stations again.
“We initially thought Epuni wouldn’t be completed until October but good progress means we’ve been able to re-open the Station ahead of schedule,” David Gordon said.
Epuni Station has been closed to passengers since mid-August to allow the platform to be upgraded. The 1700m² platform area has been re-sealed with the addition of passenger safety features such as yellow tactile strips at the platform edge.
At Khandallah, both platforms have been extended so that longer trains can use the Johnsonville Line.
Electrical ducting was also installed at both Stations in preparation for the introduction in future of a real-time passenger information system by Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Epuni and Khandallah Stations are just two of a number of stations around the region that are being improved as part of the wider upgrade of Wellington’s rail network.
“The work ranges from resurfacing platforms to completely rebuilding them. We’ve done a lot already to other station platforms on the Johnsonville Line and in October we’ll start work at Simla Crescent Station.
“On the Hutt Valley Line we also have work underway at Petone Station. Later this year we will start work at Pukerua Bay on the Paraparaumu Line, which like Epuni, will also need to close temporarily during construction. Early next year we will turn our attention to Redwood Station.
“Passengers have been understanding about the amount of work that has been happening during the year – with the upgraded platforms opening for use, hopefully they will start to see some of the benefits of all the work we’ve been doing.”
The work is part of the wider rail upgrade, the Wellington Region Rail Programme, a joint initiative between KiwiRail (Tranz Metro and ONTRACK) and GWRC to improve passenger rail services.