Work to begin to fix Wairarapa train woes, but disruptions not over yet

Wairarapa passengers have laid a large number of complaints over the issue. Photo / Darlya Redfern

KiwiRail is promising to move as quickly as possible to resolve track vibration issues for Wairarapa rail commuters, as people have faced months of delays and disruptions.

The brand new train tracks signed off by KiwiRail needed to be remedied, after revelations parts of the track had been effectively laid too narrow for the carriages that use them, whilst still being within KiwiRail’s normal engineering tolerances. The regional council had confirmed tracks covering around 16km around South Featherston had been laid 4mm narrower on average.

Commuters were subject to vibrating train journeys, with the issue putting wear and tear on the train carriages themselves, prompting a speed limit reduction to come into force.

KiwiRail has now confirmed it plans to grind down the new track, which was laid and certified by the organisation in December.

Work is set to start later this month grinding 40km of track between Featherston and Masterton to remedy the issue, which sparked mass commuter complaints, as revealed by the Herald.

The work to grind down the railway will be done at night, when passenger trains aren’t running. KiwiRail estimates the total distance should take eight weeks.

“It’s something we have been planning to do for months but, given the amount of sparks grinding generates, the summer fire ban in... Wairarapa made that impossible. With the ban lifted, we can now get our grinder down to Wellington and get the work done,” KiwiRail Metros general manager Jon Knight said in a statement.

Following the grinding, which aims to help the track and carriage wheels fit together, carriage vibrations will be retested. If vibrations on the network are still an issue, KiwiRail will work with the Greater Wellington Regional Council to reprofile the wheels of their 18 Wairarapa carriages, something the Herald has reported could take “up to 18 months”.

“I appreciate how frustrating it has been for Wairarapa locals since we put speed restrictions in place last year to manage these vibration issues, which resulted in longer journey times,” Knight acknowledged.

Only 5.8 per cent of trains arrived at key stations and their final destination within five minutes of schedule in the month of February. The poor performance was blamed on the speed restrictions and commuter woes which had been plaguing the network.

Metlink group manager Samantha Gain said she was “confident” about a fix for the vibration issues.

“The track is new and made of modern materials. Grinding will reduce the risk of track faults in the future, help reduce wear and tear on the Wairarapa carriages, and we hope will reduce the vibrations,” Gain said.

Grinding the tracks can help increase the infrastructure’s lifespan.

The joint update from the regional council and KiwiRail comes amidst a release of an independent review into the situation, which states recent investment in the Wairarapa Line has focused on “catch-up renewals” after years of “historical funding limitations”.

The report estimates a “high” cost for targeted works around rail grinding and wheel reprofiling. Railway grinding without wheel reprofiling would have “moderate” costs, with “possible additional track and wheel maintenance costs if rail wheel interface remains suboptimal”. Without wheels being reprofiled, at a cost said to be high, speed restrictions are likely to still be needed.

The independent review states new trains are coming in 2029, with allowances for more peak and off-peak services.

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 and has a keen interest in city council decisions, social housing and transport.