Wellington's Johnsonville line to reopen after train derailment

about 1 hour ago

The damaged Matangi unit was lifted from the line by cranes during the night of 11 June.

Photo: RNZ/Baz Macdonald

Passenger services on Wellington's Johnsonville line are set to resume on Wednesday after a train derailment earlier this month.

Several people were injured when a train ran a red light as it left Khandallah Station, hitting a concrete safety barrier on 6 June.

Locals who rushed to scene described dislodged seats and blood about the front end of the buckled carriage in the aftermath of the crash.

KiwiRail said the track repairs had now been completed.

Wellington Metro Network general manager Andy Lyon said crews had been hard at work assessing and repairing tracks after the damaged Matangi unit was lifted from the line by cranes during the night of 11 June.

"There was a lot of track repair work to do, including repairing broken rail and repositioning track that had moved in the incident.

"We also needed to put the overhead electric cables back into place after they were moved to allow the cranes to operate safely. Following that there was a robust testing process, including Transdev running test trains, to ensure all the systems are working and the network is safe for passengers," Lyon said.

Passengers were thanked for their patience while the work went ahead.

KiwiRail would provide extra services will run on the Johnsonville, Hutt Valley and Kāpiti lines to get rugby fans to Saturday's Hurricanes vs Chiefs Super Rugby final at the capital's Hnry Stadium.

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