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Wairarapa Connection (train)

Wairarapa Connection
DCP4818 and SW set at Carterton station with Waiararapa Connection.jpg
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
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)

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While all other regional passenger trains in New Zealand have been withdrawn, the Wairarapa Connection service continues due to the Wairarapa's proximity to Wellington and the advantage of the 8.8km Rimutaka Tunnel through the Rimutaka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.


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