Wellington trains running again following chaos

This photo of stranded commuters at Wellington train station was posted on blog geoffrys.com

Wellington trains are running again following a 55-minute suspension due to a signals failure this afternoon.

Commuters were stranded during rush hour as all trains in and out of Wellington, except the Johnsonville line, were stopped at 4.35pm.

KiwiRail North Island passenger services manager David Knight said the suspension was due to a fault in the integrated signals and points control system.

"We ... temporarily stopped train services into and out of Wellington station while we dealt with the issue."

Due to the short notice and the number of people waiting to board trains, bus replacements had not been arranged, he said.

A Tranz Metro delay notification said the signal fault was now fixed, and services will be back to timetable about 6.30pm.

"We apologise to our passengers for the delay to the journey and will get them home as soon as we can," Mr Knight said.

Commuters expressed their frustration on Twitter, with one calling Tranz Metro a "useless third world rail system" and another asking "who the hell did the work on the new lines?".

Another commuter wrote: "TranzMetro that's OK. Please accept my invoice for cost of alternative arrangements."

- NZPA















\NZP

- NZPA