Matarawa railway station is a small single-platform railway station on the Wairarapa Line that serves the small rural community of Matarawa in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand.
Matarawa | |||||||||||
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| Metlink regional rail | |||||||||||
 Matarawa Station in December 2007. | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Railway Road, Dalefield, New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°2′55.78″S 175°26′53.31″E / 41.0488278°S 175.4481417°E | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 70 metres (230 ft) | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Greater Wellington Regional Council | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Wairarapa Line | ||||||||||
| Distance | 69.61 kilometres (43.25 mi) from Wellington | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Single | ||||||||||
| Tracks | main line | ||||||||||
| Train operators | Transdev Wellington | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | ||||||||||
| Parking | No | ||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | No | ||||||||||
| Architectural style | Vogel class 6 | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Station code | MATA | ||||||||||
| Fare zone | 13[1] | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1 November 1880 | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2007 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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History
edit
This station opened on 1 November 1880, when the line between Woodside Junction and Masterton was officially opened. Initially it had a shelter shed, loading bank and crossing loop and was used to cross trains until the introduction of signalling at the larger Wairarapa stations. In its early years several sawmills flourished in the vicinity, with timber making up a bulk of the goods loaded. The crossing loop and private sawmill sidings have been removed.[2]
The station was closed to all traffic on 1 February 1981. It was re-opened 17 days later to passenger traffic only.
In 2006, with the introduction of the SW-class carriages for the Wairarapa Connection service looming, it was proposed that this station be closed due to its low patronage and the cost involved in building a platform so that passengers could safely board and disembark from the new carriages. After vocal opposition from local residents, this proposal was rescinded.[3]
This station was temporarily closed from 17 May 2007 to 4 June 2007 to enable construction work to proceed on preparations for the new carriages. The station was reopened on 7 June 2007 with a new platform (prior to the upgrade it did not have a platform).[4][5][6]
Services
editThe request stop is served by the Wairarapa Connection has five services each way on Monday to Thursday, six on Friday and two on Saturday and Sunday. Trains run to Masterton and Wellington. No bus routes serve the station.
References
edit- ^ Metlink. "Text description of fare zone boundaries". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ Cameron, Walter Norman (1976). A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN 0-908573-00-6.
- ^ Radley, Matt (27 March 2007). "Matarawa station to stay open". Greater Wellington. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- ^ Radley, Matt (14 May 2007). "New Metlink Wairarapa train and Wairarapa station improvements". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- ^ Radley, Matt (14 June 2007). "More new carriages introduced on Wairarapa line". Greater Wellington. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- ^ "Rail upgrades near end". Wairarapa Times-Age. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
External links
edit- Passenger service timetables from Tranz Metro and Metlink.
- Turner, Eric. "Help Save Matarawa Station". Wairarapa Greens. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- "Matarawa SOS". Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- Matarawa - Save Our Station Protest. Matarawa, Wairarapa, New Zealand: mikerb. 21 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- CROMBIE, NATHAN (20 February 2007). "SOS call to save Matarawa station from closure". Wairarapa Times-Age. Retrieved 29 October 2007.[permanent dead link]