Opaki Railway Station
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Opaki
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New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR) regional rail |
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Site of the former Opaki station.
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| Location | Wingate Road, Opaki New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 40°53′17.14″S 175°39′41.64″E / 40.8880944°S 175.6615667°E |
| Owned by | Railways Department |
| Line(s) | Wairarapa Line |
| History | |
| Opened | 14 June 1886 |
| Closed | 9 June 1969 (all except goods) 25 September 1972 (goods) |
Opaki railway station served the small rural village of Opaki, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Masterton, in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand’s North Island. It was located on the Wairarapa Line between the stations of Masterton (to the south) and Kopuaranga (to the north) with vehicular access from Wingate Road.
The station opened to all traffic in 1886 along with Kopuaranga and Mauriceville and remained in use for 86 years, seeing a variety of traffic from mixed, goods, and passenger services as well as both steam and diesel motive power. A modal shift from rail to road was largely behind the station’s demise, leading to its closure to all traffic in 1972. Despite closing before the withdrawal of all passenger and local goods services from the northern section of the Wairarapa Line, it is one of several stations (sites) on this section to have been used for railway purposes after being closed to regular traffic.
When the station opened in mid-1886, Opaki was served by mixed trains that had already been providing services to stations further south on those sections of the line that were opened as the railway line made its way north. Mauriceville was briefly the railhead (for seven months) until Mangamahoe opened early the next year followed by Eketahuna two years later. Mixed trains continued to provide the only regular passenger services to Opaki until the completion of the line through to Woodville in 1897.
At the time the Wairarapa Line was completed, the Wellington–Manawatu Line was owned and operated by the privately held Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, meaning all government trains from Wellington to destinations north ran via the Wairarapa, ascribing a status of some importance to stations like Opaki. The popular Napier Mail trains were diverted from their original Napier – Palmerston North route to run via the Wairarapa to Wellington, and became the main passenger service stopping at Opaki, supplementing the mixed trains that continued to run on this section.
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Wikipedia