Western Hutt Railway Station
Encyclopedia
Western Hutt Railway Station, formerly Lower Hutt, is an intermediate station on the single-track Melling Line in Lower Hutt
, New Zealand
, It is served by Metlink electric multiple unit
trains operated by Tranz Metro
.
until 1 March 1954, when the Melling-Belmont section of the line on the western side of the Hutt Valley was closed and the through line to Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa rerouted through the centre of the valley. The truncated line to Melling via the Western Hutt Station was then electrified.
In the 19th century, the line from Wellington to the Hutt and the Lower Hutt Station were opened on 14 April 1874.
A new station building was erected in 1892, containing a ladies as well as a general waiting room.
A large new Lower Hutt Station building designed by George Troup
was opened in 1906. The line from Lower Hutt to Petone was double tracked in 1905, although not completed to Wellington until 1911. The second (double) track from Lower Hutt to the Hutt Valley Junction was removed by 1958. Hoy remarked in 1968 that the platform is still one of the longest in the district and a two-coach Melling train is lost in the middle.
The station was still an important goods facility after 1954, but in 1981 the Melling Branch lost the last of its freight traffic when the goods facilities at Lower Hutt station were closed and the local goods shunts to Lower Hutt ceased. Goods handling was transferred to a new facility at Gracefield.
The building is now leased to various shops and businesses, and is called The Station Village Complex http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/venue/the-station-village-complex-lower-hutt.
bus routes serve Western Hutt station:
Lower Hutt
Lower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, It is served by Metlink electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
trains operated by Tranz Metro
Tranz Metro
Tranz Metro, part of KiwiRail, is the operator of Metlink suburban trains owned by the Greater Wellington Regional Council in the Wellington Region of New Zealand....
.
History
The station used to be on the Hutt Valley Line section of the Wairarapa LineWairarapa Line
The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city of Wellington with the Wairarapa region. The line ends at Woodville, where it joins the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line...
until 1 March 1954, when the Melling-Belmont section of the line on the western side of the Hutt Valley was closed and the through line to Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa rerouted through the centre of the valley. The truncated line to Melling via the Western Hutt Station was then electrified.
In the 19th century, the line from Wellington to the Hutt and the Lower Hutt Station were opened on 14 April 1874.
A new station building was erected in 1892, containing a ladies as well as a general waiting room.
A large new Lower Hutt Station building designed by George Troup
George Troup (architect)
Sir George Alexander Troup, CMG was a New Zealand architect, engineer and statesman. He was nicknamed "Gingerbread George" after his most famous design, the Dunedin Railway Station in the Flemish Renaissance style . He was the first official architect of the New Zealand Railways...
was opened in 1906. The line from Lower Hutt to Petone was double tracked in 1905, although not completed to Wellington until 1911. The second (double) track from Lower Hutt to the Hutt Valley Junction was removed by 1958. Hoy remarked in 1968 that the platform is still one of the longest in the district and a two-coach Melling train is lost in the middle.
The station was still an important goods facility after 1954, but in 1981 the Melling Branch lost the last of its freight traffic when the goods facilities at Lower Hutt station were closed and the local goods shunts to Lower Hutt ceased. Goods handling was transferred to a new facility at Gracefield.
The building is now leased to various shops and businesses, and is called The Station Village Complex http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/venue/the-station-village-complex-lower-hutt.
Services
The following MetlinkPublic transport in Wellington
Public transport in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is well developed compared to other parts of the country. The system covers the Greater Wellington region, including Wellington city, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.-Administration:Public transport in...
bus routes serve Western Hutt station:
- 150: Western Hills
External links
- Passenger service timetables from Metlink and Tranz Metro.