Eketahuna Railway Station
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Eketahuna
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|---|---|
| New Zealand Government Railways regional rail | |
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| Location | Herbert Street Eketahuna New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 40°38′58.37″S 175°42′23.46″E / 40.6495472°S 175.7065167°E |
| Elevation | 227 metres (745 ft) |
| Owned by | |
| Operated by | Railways Department (1889–1988) |
| Line(s) | Wairarapa Line |
| Distance | 126.82 kilometres (78.80 mi) from Wellington |
| Platforms | single side |
| Tracks | main line (single) |
| Train operators |
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| Construction | |
| Structure type | at-grade |
| Parking | yes |
| History | |
| Opened | 8 April 1889 |
| Closed |
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| Key dates | |
| 10 May 2014 | re-opened (heritage rail operators only) |
Eketahuna railway station was a station on the Wairarapa Line, a railway line that runs through the Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North Island. Located between the stations of Mangamahoe (to the south) and Newman (to the north), it served the small southern Tararua town of Eketahuna and was one of the few attended stations on the northern section of the line.
The railhead of the Wairarapa Line was at Eketahuna from when the station opened in 1889 until 1896, and later it continued to be an important station for the surrounding rural area. Closure to all traffic came in 1988 after improvements to local and regional roads contributed to a decline in the patronage of passenger rail services.
It was with great excitement that the residents of Eketahuna greeted the first train to their town on 8 April 1889. The official party aboard the train included the Minister of Public Works (Edwin Mitchelson), Minister of Lands (George Richardson), Commissioner of Railways (J. C. McKerrow), Speaker of the Legislative Council (William Fitzherbert), a former mayor of Wellington (S. Brown), as well as several department heads and spouses. On its way north, the train had avoided stopping at any of the flag stations between Upper Hutt and Masterton, where it stopped, before continuing its journey with brief stops at Mauriceville and Mangamahoe. Around 400 people received the train after it passed under two arches that had been erected south of the station yard for the occasion.
The station enjoyed a period of intense activity as the terminus of the line including the shipment of large quantities of timber, wool, and butter in season. Passengers heading north to destinations including Woodville, Palmerston North, and Napier had to transfer to stagecoaches to continue their journeys, while those stopping over in Eketahuna were catered for by the Railway Hotel, a neighbour of the station, and also the Temperance Hotel and Commercial Hotel.
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