Wellington trains moving again after overhead power fault halted train services

Trains are starting to move again in Wellington after an overhead power fault halted train services earlier. Photo / File

Trains are starting to move again in Wellington, though delays are still expected.

Passengers were stranded earlier after an overhead power fault halted train services.

Metlink had sent out an alert stating all rail services arriving at and departing from Wellington were suspended due to the fault.

Bus replacements were then heading northbound from Wellington Station, with southbound passengers at that stage expected to be serviced as northbound services arrived at their destinations.

Metlink had warned people to expect delays.

The trains in Spain* don't work when it rains.
*Wellington

— Will de Cleene (@ZippyGonzales) May 3, 2017

"Services cannot be evacuated until we have clearance due to the overhead electrical current," Metlink had said.

Caitlin Carew tweeted that the fault had caused her to miss her birthday dinner, saying that Metlink "needs a better plan 4 dealing with these situations".

And Kelvin King tweeted his frustration with the long journey home: "2 hours, 9 minutes after departure. We've arrived at Petone!!! See you tomorrow for more adventures on Transdev Wellington trains."

Will de Cleene, going by the username @ZippyGonzales, ventured that "The trains in Spain* don't work when it rains", explaining plainly that that nation is really "*Wellington".

Much earlier twitter user DrSJNZ announced the problem: "I think our train just lost power? Stopped on the tracks suddenly and the lights went out."

She then tweeted that something had "come into contact with the overhead lines", so they were stuck on the "very full, very stuffy train" while the matter was investigated.

Sophia Bishop tweeted: "Wellington needs an integrated system so if you catch a bus that says 'railway station' you might get a heads up that all trains are suspended."