Otaki railway station (New Zealand)

Ōtaki railway station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk railway line serving Ōtaki in the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand. It is served by the Capital Connection long distance commuter train between Wellington and Palmerston North.

Ōtaki
Ōtaki Railway Station on 15 February 2016.
LocationArthur Street, Ōtaki
Coordinates40.7629°S 175.1564°E / -40.7629; 175.1564
Owned byKiwiRail
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
Platforms1
Tracks2
Construction
ParkingYes
History
Opened1886
Rebuilt1909, 1911
Services
Preceding station   The Great Journeys of New Zealand   Following station
Capital Connection
toward Wellington
Designated5 September 1985
Reference no.4099

History

The station was opened by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (W&MR) as an intermediate station on the Wellington-Manawatu Line in 1886, with an excursion train from Palmerston North to Ōtaki on 2 August.

The station building was similar to a Fourth Class railway station built for the NZR by the Public Works Department. The station building had a ladies' waiting room and an office for the stationmaster. The yard had four tracks, a loading ramp, a goods shed, and an engine house and turntable. Initially the station was known as New Otaki to differentiate it from the original settlement, but was soon changed to Otaki. A refreshment room was added in 1893.[1]

Following the nationalisation of W&MR in 1908, a new station was opened in 1909, but was destroyed by fire on 24 July 1910. The replacement Type B station was designed by the notable NZR architect George Troup, and opened in February 1911. It has a New Zealand Historic Places Trust Class II listing.

Services

The following Metlink bus routes serve Ōtaki station:

  • 290: Ōtaki Beach

Future

Northern Corridor

With realignment of the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway (part of the Northern Corridor project) north of Ōtaki the rail curve north of Ōtaki was realigned by Easter 2019 and the station yard moved south.[2]

The northern section of the platform was removed, the passing loop was extended north and is now 1050 m long, and the platform extends 60 m south with the new section raised to 680 mm above the railhead (200 mm higher than the previous section). The signalling was upgraded, all train detection is now by axle-counters, and new 50 kg/m rails and composite (plastic) sleepers used beneath the yard turnouts.[3] The deviation was bought into use on 22 April 2019.[4]

Electrification

There is currently a campaign to extend the electrified commuter services to Ōtaki, following the extension of the electrification of the Kapiti Line from Paraparaumu to Waikanae. In 2012 the Greater Wellington Regional Council investigated extension of the electrification with Matangi trains north of Waikanae to Ōtaki (estimated cost $30 million for the Ōtaki project) and north of Upper Hutt to a new station at Timberlea.[5] However, extension of electrification north to Ōtaki was removed from official long-term rail improvement plans in 2014.[6] The estimated cost of electrification was put between $115m and $135m, which included new trains.[7] New trains were included as trains with toilets would be required, due to the travel time to Wellington to Ōtaki being over one hour.[7] This could be a "final nail in the coffin" for the under threat Capital Connection service from Wellington to Palmerston North, which also stops at Ōtaki.[7] During the 2017 general election, the Green Party proposed extending electrification to Ōtaki as an alternative to the Northern Corridor extension from Peka Peka.[8]

References
  1. Kerr 2001, p. 14f.
  2. "Peka Peka to Otaki Expressway". New Zealand Transport Agency. 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. The New Zealand Railfan March 2019 No 348 pages 13,14 (Vol 25 No 2)
  4. The New Zealand Railfan June 2019 No 349 page 17 (Vol 25 No 3)
  5. Forbes, Michael (24 November 2012). "Electric extension for trains". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax NZ News. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  6. KLYEN, SAM (7 March 2014). ""Inter-regional" rail service to Wellington mulled". Kapiti Observer. Kapiti Coast: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  7. "Rail electrification to Otaki too costly". The Dominion Post. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  8. "Greens suggest extending electric rail services and commuter trains". Scoop.co.nz. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.

Further reading
  • Cassells, Ken (1994). Uncommon Carrier: The History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, 1882-1908. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN 0-908573-63-4.
  • Hoy, Douglas, West of the Tararuas: An Illustrated History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (Wellington, Southern Press, 1972)
  • Kerr, Rex (2001). Otaki Railway: A station and its people since 1886. Otaki: Otaki Railway Station Community Trust. ISBN 0-473-08081-8.
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