Local man Laurence Bartup regularly walks his dog near the Levin Railway Station and is disgusted with the state of the area.
Local man Laurence Bartup regularly walks his dog near the Levin Railway Station and is disgusted with the state of the area.
Local man Laurence Bartup is incredibly proud of the town he moved to 10 years ago, but is disgusted by the state of the 110-year-old Levin Railway Station, which is the first thing people travelling by train see when they arrive here.
Bartup can't understand why nobody is taking responsibility for its upkeep.
"This is a historical building [and] we should value what we have," he said. "There's a new sign on the platform but KiwiRail won't let me volunteer to keep [the area] clean."
When approached about the state of the place, a KiwiRail spokesperson issued the following statement:
"The Levin station building is not owned by KiwiRail, and KiwiRail is not responsible for its upkeep, or decisions about its occupancy. Our understanding is that it is in Crown ownership, and that LINZ may be able to provide you with information as to which specific agency has responsibility for it.
"KiwiRail is responsible for the platform, which is used for the Capital Connection service. KiwiRail ensures the platform is regularly cleaned, serviceable and safe."
Rubbish, including an abandoned pair of underpants, piled up under a seat at the Levin Railway Station.
We reached out to the Levin community via our Facebook page and had a number of respondents who agreed with Bartup regarding the disrepair of the station.
"The Levin station is the ugliest station by far. Other stations have gorgeous art, well lit with proper seating. Those stations reflect well for their respective communities ..."
"Demolish it and build something new it's an eyesore."
"Sad. It's like we're living in the Bronx of New York city!"
"... Poor lighting for those who have to use the train! Accident waiting to happen when the footpaths are cracked and uneven."
"I was horrified at the state of the station when we arrived on the Wellington train a few months back. It hadn't changed from 20 years ago!!"
The disrepair on the Levin Railway Station building includes random graffiti on various walls and doors.
When we met with Bartup at the station last week, there were obvious signs of damage on the building, as well as graffiti; rubbish piled up under the seats and against the walls; and the timetable display was so dirty that you couldn't see any of the information clearly.
The platform had potholes and moss on it in numerous spots and did not look like it had been cleaned in some time, while the condition of the wheelchair access ramp appeared very unsafe.
The supposed regularly cleaned, serviceable and safe platform at Levin Railway Station.
We approached the owners of the property, Toitū Te Whenua LINZ, who issued the following statement:
"Toitū Te Whenua LINZ manage and maintain properties in the Treaty Settlements Landbank. This property is currently landbanked for future Treaty settlements with iwi in the area.
"This land can be used as cultural or commercial redress in a settlement. There are three pieces of land at the former Levin Railway Station in the Treaty Settlements Landbank.
"We recognise that the old railway station needs work done to it. Maintenance works have been identified and are included in LINZ's ongoing planned maintenance programmes.
"Recent maintenance work on the station includes replacing a rotten window and replacing part of the roof that was leaking. Future planned work includes more roof repairs. From 01 July 2019, a total of $19,566 plus GST has been spent on maintenance at the site."
It would appear that at this stage no major improvements are planned for a site that is basically the gateway to Levin.
