Wairarapa Connection

Wairarapa Connection

DCP4818 and an SW carriage set on a northbound Wairarapa Connection service at Carterton in August 2007
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Wellington Region, New Zealand
First service	1964
Current operator(s)	Transdev Wellington
Former operator(s)	New Zealand Railways Department (1964–1981) New Zealand Railways Corporation (1981–1985) CityRail (1985–1995) Tranz Metro (1995-2016)
Ridership	705,000 annually (2012–13)
Route
Start	Wellington
Stops	10
End	Masterton
Distance travelled	91 km (57 mi)
Average journey time	1 hour 40 minutes
Service frequency	Mon-Thu: five each way Fri: six each way Sat, Sun, Public Holidays: two each way
On-board services
Class(es)	Standard class only
Disabled access	Yes, through SWS carriage
Seating arrangements	Airline style and table bay
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks Baggage carriage
Technical
	5× DFB class locomotives 18× SW class carriages 6× SE class carriages 1× AG class luggage van
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map 91.0km / 1:42hr Masterton 89.4 / 1:39 Renall Street 88.1 / 1:36 Solway(Kurupuni, Purakau) 76.6 / 1:26 Carterton 69.6 / 1:17 Matarawa 65.1 / 1:10 Woodside(Woodside Junction) 57.2 / 1:01 Featherston 8798 m Rimutaka Tunnel 38.8 / 0:42 Maymorn(Mangaroa) 572 m Maoribank Tunnel 32.4 / 0:35 Upper Hutt 15.5 / 0:19 Waterloo Interchange (Hutt Central) 10.5 / 0:13 Petone 0.0km / 0:00hr Wellington

Route map
91.0km / 1:42hr Masterton 89.4 / 1:39 Renall Street 88.1 / 1:36 Solway(Kurupuni, Purakau) 76.6 / 1:26 Carterton 69.6 / 1:17 Matarawa 65.1 / 1:10 Woodside(Woodside Junction) 57.2 / 1:01 Featherston 8798 m Rimutaka Tunnel 38.8 / 0:42 Maymorn(Mangaroa) 572 m Maoribank Tunnel 32.4 / 0:35 Upper Hutt 15.5 / 0:19 Waterloo Interchange (Hutt Central) 10.5 / 0:13 Petone 0.0km / 0:00hr Wellington

The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Transdev (with KiwiRail sub-contracted to operate the locomotives) under contract from the Greater Wellington Regional Council. It is a diesel-hauled carriage service, introduced by the New Zealand Railways Department in 1964 after passenger demand between Masterton to Wellington exceeded the capacity of the diesel railcars then used.

The 91-kilometre (57 mi) service operates five times daily in each direction Monday to Friday, three peak and two off-peak, with an additional service each way on Friday nights and two services each way on weekends and public holidays. It stops at all stations from Masterton to Upper Hutt, then runs express along the Hutt Valley Line to Wellington, stopping only at Waterloo and Petone stations.

While all other regional passenger trains in New Zealand have been withdrawn, the Wairarapa Connection service continues due to the Wairarapa's proximity to Wellington and the advantage of the 8.8km Rimutaka Tunnel through the Rimutaka Ranges compared to the narrow and winding Rimutaka Hill Road over them. In the year to 30 June 2013, the service's ridership was 705,000, down slightly from 719,000 in the 2011/12 year.

Before the Wairarapa Connection, 88 seater railcars were used between Masterton and Wellington. They had replaced the steam-hauled mixed trains and Wairarapa class railcars in 1955, when the Rimutaka Tunnel opened and the line became the first fully dieselised line in New Zealand. The Wairarapa Mail carriage train ran between Wellington and Woodville until 1948.