Passengers' patience is tested

TARDY: Fifty per cent of our trains are not running to schedule.PHOTO/FILE

Half of the trains on the Wairarapa line arrived late last month, according to performance figures released recently by Tranz Metro.

Wairarapa line trains arriving within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time fell from 68 per cent in March to 50 per cent in April.

In comparison, 85 per cent of Hutt Valley trains and 94 per cent of Kapiti trains were on time in April.

A spokeswoman for the Greater Wellington Regional Council said the drop in punctuality was due to speed restrictions which were in place on sections of the line between Upper Hutt and Masterton, as well as a section of line between Petone and Ngauranga.

Unlike the Hutt, the Wairarapa line was affected by several speed restrictions at the same time, causing "considerable delays to journey times", the spokeswoman said.

"Because the number of services on the Wairarapa line is so small compared to the number of services on all other lines, changes are magnified to a certain extent."

The speed restrictions were for various maintenance works, including over the Silverstream bridge and for track maintenance between Wellington and Petone.

One speed restriction was expected to be in place for most of the year.

Punctuality for the week ending May 17 fell to 34 per cent due to the severe weather, but otherwise would have been close to 70 per cent, the spokeswoman said. The results do not take into account cancellations.