Wellington commuter lines remain closed after quake

All Wellington commuter lines will remain closed tomorrow morning with no peak train services or bus replacements operating.

Tranz Metro passengers were advised to make alternative travel arrangements for the morning.

Tranz Metro train services were suspended immediately following the magnitude 6.5 earthquake which struck at 5.09pm.

Cursory track inspections had been undertaken across all four lines (Wairarapa, Kapiti, Hutt Valley and Johnsonville) to check for damage to the rail.

However, due to the number of aftershocks that had taken place and the constraints involved in undertaking inspections without daylight, KiwiRail would be carrying out another inspection tomorrow morning to ensure that there was no damage to the tracks, bridges and tunnels that may not have been identified in the dark.

"While there have been no immediate reports of damage following tonight's cursory inspections, we want to take every precaution to ensure that there has been no impairment to our tracks," said KiwiRail's passenger general manager Deborah Hume.

"Despite efforts from Tranz Metro staff, we have been unable to source buses for tomorrow morning's peak at such short notice."

Tranz Metro will be updating its website regularly and is urging customers to check the information before they travel at www.tranzmetro.co.nz.

"We will providing regular updates on the website and via our text messaging system as we have more information, but passengers will have to use alternative transport for tomorrow morning's peak," Ms Hume said.