Subscribe to RSSNew Ganz, Matangi, Waikanae -Photos
600 people had the chance to get on board and look around the newly refurbished Ganz Mavag unit and a four-car Matangi train when Wellington’s commuter rail extension to Waikanae was launched last weekend.
The new electric Matangi trains will be running on the Kapiti line from July.
Some of the new trains will begin running off peak on the Upper Hutt Line shortly and in May, Matangi trains will replace the entire Johnsonville fleet of English Electrics.
The Ganz Mavag refurbishment includes major mechanical and cosmetic improvements aimed to greatly improve reliability and comfort. After a full assessment of the prototype in the next few months, Greater Wellington will decide whether to refurbish the rest of the Ganz Mavag fleet or replace it.
It’s Wellington’s the first major extension to its suburban line since electrified trains reached Paraparaumu in 1983,
KiwiRail has kindly supplied me with some photos of the opening day taken by Marty Melville/Kiwirail/GWRC:
The new Matangi
Inside the Matangi
Steven, GWRC Chair Fran Wilde, local MP Nathan Guy
The Ministers carried out a symbolic re-enactment of the driving of the last spike into the rail – which was then put on display at Waikanae.
MP Nathan Guy
Porirua station on the way to Waikanae, has also had a $1m upgrade. It’s the second busiest across the second busiest on Wellington’s commuter rail network, with about 1.3 million passenger trips made from there each year. Greater Wellington funded works which included resurfacing the station platform and steps and upgrading the bus shelter, subway, lighting, paving and fencing and ducting has been be in place for the introduction in future of Greater Wellington ‘s real time passenger information systems.
At the entrance to the subway areas and for each stair or ramp area, there are artworks that have been designed and produced by local artists.
Porirua photos -Porirua City Council
New lights have been installed in the subway to showcase almost 50 new panels showing over 100 photos that highlight Porirua’s natural values and strong art talent by local photographers.
Ten murals have been installed on panels along these areas.
Safety improvements include upgrading all floors and stairways at the station. The station’s platforms have been resurfaced and tactile studs installed along the entire length of the platform.
Renovations to the bus interchange at the station include improvements to the footpath, painting of the bus shelter and more lighting, seating and information signs, to make the interchange brighter, more secure and more user- friendly.
Fencing has been replaced on both sides of the railway track near the station to make the area safer.
5 Comments
Okay, there’s a placard in the crowd saying “Xpressway now, WLR yes”. What’s WLR? Wellington Light Rail?
Western Link Road
http://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/Projects/Western-Link-Road/
@Doloras WLR=Western Link Road, which was the KCDCs attempt to make the Sandhills Motorway reservation useless for a future 4-lane road.
Some of the opponents of the 4-lane expressway want a 2-lane useless WLR. The 2nd road crossing of the Waikanae River might be useful, but every other bit would be parallel to existing, completely uncongested local roads.
Incidentally I’m on the new Waikanae train today to avoid Friday afternoon traffic. The train isn’t that useful for me, as it requires a bus and a walk to get to work, but on a Friday the congestion can be horrid (at Pukerua Bay and between Paraparaumu and Waikanae), and that 1 hr 30 minutes to get home on PT starts to look good.
The Kapiti congestion isn’t limited to Friday afternoons and evenings either, or holiday weekends, but on a normal Saturday or Sunday afternoon there can be jams between Param and Waikanae. The current SH1 has very little capacity.
Of all the RoNS, the Kapiti 4-lane expressway would probably be one of the more useful. So too for the Otaki Bypass. Transmission Gully and the Peka-Peka to the Otaki Bypass sections though are a complete waste of money.
Nice to see Steven Joyce opening “another railway upgrade”. He must be the “grand daddy” of public transport upgrades in New Zealand.
Choke… yeah right!
I do have to note, he has not yet announced one single major upgrade of public transport since being in Government.
Thank god there’s no Steven Joyce type Ministers in Switzerland - love the public transport systems here. Such a wealthy country as no one is wasting a lot of their income on purchasing petrol and cars.
WOW! Porirua looks amazing!
I’ve walked through that station and been around there late at night. Its not somewhere you really want to be. Pritty bad for a city the size of Porirua. More apartment and mixed use development needs to occur in the city to encourage more life. I am still disapointed we don’t have anything like New Lynn being constructed.