Melling Line
| Melling Branch | |||
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The Melling Branch runs beside Western Hutt Road (State Highway 2) for its entire length.
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| Overview | |||
| Type | Commuter rail | ||
| System | Metlink | ||
| Status | Open, passenger only | ||
| Locale | Wellington, New Zealand | ||
| Termini |
Petone Melling |
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| Stations | 2 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opened | 15 December 1875 (as Wairarapa Line) 1 March 1954 (as Melling Branch) |
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| Owner |
KiwiRail (track) Greater Wellington Regional Council (stations) |
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| Operator(s) | Transdev Wellington | ||
| Character | Suburban | ||
| Rolling stock |
Matangi class EMUs Ganz-Mavag EM class EMUs |
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| Technical | |||
| Line length | 2.99 km | ||
| Track length | 2.99 km | ||
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | ||
| Electrification | 1600 V DC overhead | ||
| Operating speed | 50 km/h (31 mph) | ||
| Route number | MEL | ||
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The Melling Branch is a railway branch line in the Hutt Valley, north of Wellington, New Zealand. It is part of the national rail network and formerly part of the Wairarapa Line. Until 2010 it was one of only two passenger-only lines in the country (the second one being the Johnsonville Line), since that year the two being joined by the Onehunga Branch and later by the Manukau Branch.
Services are operated by Transdev Wellington under the Metlink brand and marketed as the Melling Line. Trains run between Wellington and Melling from Monday to Friday.
The colonial government of William Fox passed the Railways Act in 1870, which authorised the surveying of several railway lines including one from Wellington to the Wairarapa. Surveyor John Rochfort was hired by the Public Works Department to investigate four potential routes for this line and reported back with his findings at the completion of his trip. He recommended a line following the road between Wellington and Petoni [sic] on the seaward side, running up the western side of the Hutt Valley before crossing the Hutt River at Silver Stream [sic], heading north through Upper Hutt, up the Mungaroa [sic] and Pakuratahi Valleys, and over the Rimutaka Range to Featherston. The Public Works Department concurred with his assessment and tasked him with completing a more detailed survey including cost estimates.
Construction of the Wairarapa Line was authorised by the Railways Act of 1871. A further survey was commissioned and carried out between January and April 1872. The route of the line had been decided on in March but the Government, being cautious about such a large undertaking, was only willing to commit itself to the first stage of the project. The Government entered into a contract for the construction of the formation for a railway line from Wellington to Lower Hutt with John Brogden and Sons on 10 August 1872. Work commenced later that month on the 20th with a turning-of-the-first-sod ceremony officiated by the Governor General, Sir George Bowen. Progress was slow, and by July 1873 rails had only reached the south bank of the Kaiwarra [sic] Stream. The arrival of the first locomotive in November 1873 helped to speed up the pace of construction and the rails reached Lower Hutt in January 1874. John Brogden and Sons, initially tasked with creating the formation only, were also given the job of platelaying. The next few months were spent ballasting the line with this being completed on 4 April.
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Wikipedia