Wellington railway line to reopen

Full commuter services will resume tomorrow on Wellington's commuter rail network, after damaged tracks were repaired and cleared during the weekend, KiwiRail says.

Heavy rain on Thursday caused several slips, contributing to a head-on crash between two commuter trains, just north of Plimmerton, and closing the North Island's main rail line.

KiwiRail said crew worked around the clock to clear and check the area where the collision occurred and make repairs further north at Muri, where the line was seriously damaged when rain washed out ground from under the track, spokeswoman Jenni Austin said.

Workers had to build a retaining wall over the weekend to restore the track.

"We had the weather on our side for a change," she said.

Slips on the Johnsonville line had also been cleared.

The Capital Connection and Overlander services would also run as normal from tomorrow.

"We do appreciate our customers' patience while we carried out these repairs and restored the network," KiwiRail North Island passenger services manager David Knight said.

Buses replaced trains over the weekend to allow the repairs to take place.

The rail line through the Manawatu Gorge has also been re-opened following a week-long closure while a massive slip was cleared. A freight locomotive which was derailed when it hit the slip last Saturday was rerailed and removed from the site yesterday.

- NZPA