Rail report reveals poor track record

ROUGH RUNNING: The latest rail report shows only 74.5 per cent of trains on the Wairarapa line run on time. PHOTO / FILE

The latest rail report has shown the Wairarapa line is still the least punctual train line in the region.

The annual Greater Wellington Metropolitan Rail report showed the number of trains on time within five minutes decreased from 78 per cent to 74.5 per cent in the last financial year, with patronage declining by 5.4 per cent.

Greater Wellington Regional Council rail operations manager Angus Gabara said maintenance on the line had caused speed restrictions, which affected punctuality.

High summer temperatures in Wairarapa also caused the rails to overheat meaning trains must travel slower, Mr Gabara said.

"Summer temperatures in Wairarapa tend to be considerably higher than in other parts of the region ... once the rail temperatures reach 40 degrees, the trains have to go slower."

Other lines in the region proved more punctual with the Hutt Valley, Kapiti and Johnsonville lines recording 95.3, 95.4 and 93.3 per cent punctuality respectively.

"Punctuality is not as good as on other lines because the distance is significantly longer than other lines, meaning more possibility of delays. Also, the fact that there are so few services running on this line compared to others means that one delay or cancellation has a much greater impact on average figures."

There were no plans to increase the number of services on the line, he said.

Work had improved punctuality with 85 per cent of trains arriving on time from July to October, Mr Gabara said.

"Plus we've changed the operational turnaround time of the first train that leaves Wellington each day at 8.25am. This is now leaving on time much more often than previously and this is having a significant effect on all other services."

It was unclear why patronage had decreased but delays caused by speed restrictions might be one reason, Mr Gabara said.

Overall train patronage across the Wellington region increased 2.5 per cent to 11.6 million trips and punctuality rose to 94.3 per cent.