Ontrack and rail workers reach agreement

Rail network operator Ontrack and its maintenance staff have reached a pay agreement, ending a week of industrial action.

The staff, represented by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU), last Wednesday began refusing to work outside standard hours after pay talks broke down.

Despite the end of industrial action, Wellington's Tranz Metro services would not return to normal timetables until Saturday, spokeswoman Sue Foley told NZPA.

She said reduced services would continue to operate tomorrow as Tranz Metro needed time to organise staff and rewrite rosters.

Ontrack and RMTU today issued a joint statement announcing the agreement, but would not make any comment about the settlement.

The overtime and callout ban had been lifted, effective immediately, they said.

During the industrial action Wellington train operator Tranz Metro ran an "enhanced Saturday" timetable, which used about half the trains it normally did on weekdays on the Hutt, Porirua and Johnsonville lines.

The company said running fewer trains put less stress on the infrastructure, decreased the chance of faults, but it caused overcrowding on trains and platforms.

- NZPA