Featherston railway station

Featherston railway station is a single-platform, urban railway station serving the town of Featherston in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The station lies on the Wairarapa Line, and is located between Harrison Street West and Harrison Street East. It is thirty-five minutes journey time to Masterton, or fifty five minutes journey time to Wellington.

Featherston
Metlink regional rail
LocationHarrison Street West, Featherston, New Zealand
Coordinates41°6′47.74″S 175°19′48.85″E
Elevation49 metres (161 ft)
Owned byGreater Wellington Regional Council[1]
Line(s)Wairarapa Line
Distance57.15 kilometres (35.51 mi) from Wellington
PlatformsSingle side
Tracks
  • 1 mainline
  • 1 loop(s)
  • 1 Road Siding
Train operatorsTransdev Wellington
Bus routes2
Bus operators
  • Tranzit Coachlines
  • Wairarapa Coachlines
Connections
  •  200  Featherston - Masterton
  •  205  Featherston - Martinborough
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesNo
Other information
Station codeFEAT
Fare zone11[2]
History
Opened16 October 1878
Closed13 October 1986 (freight)
Rebuilt1982
Passengers
2011>462 passengers/day[3]
Services
Preceding station   Transdev Wellington   Following station
toward Masterton
Wairarapa Connection
toward Wellington

This station also serves a larger area of the South Wairarapa district, in particular the residents of Martinborough, as it is the closest station to several settlements outside of Featherston.

The station building houses a ticket office from which fares for the Wairarapa Connection service are sold. Goods have not been consigned from Featherston since 1986.

History

Formation work on the line reached Featherston on 17 August 1878, with platelaying completed the following month in September. Though the first train reached Featherston in late September, it was not until 16 October that the railway was opened for public use.[4]

Featherston was initially a station of some importance, being the railhead for two years until the opening of the line through to Masterton. It was opened with a seven-room station building, a 60-by-30-foot (18.3 m × 9.1 m) goods shed, a locomotive shed and watering facilities for the locomotives, but no coal supply until 1888. There were also refreshment rooms, but they, along with the locomotive depot, were removed in 1891. With the closure of the engine shed, all locomotives working the southern Wairarapa district – with the exception of the locomotive working the Greytown Branch – were based at Cross Creek. The original wooden station building was replaced with the present-day structure in 1982.[5]

The goods shed was demolished, but the loading bank and two loops remain. An aggregate supplies company now occupies the area of the yard where the goods shed used to be.

As of 22 July 2008 all remaining sidings are in the process of being removed except the 1st road, work being completed by 8 August 2008.

Future

In 2019/20 the GWRC is to "renew" the Featherston railway station.[6]

As part of the New Zealand Upgrade Programme announced by the government on 29 January 2020, a second platform will be installed at Featherston.[7][8]

Services

The only trains with scheduled stops at Featherston station are the passenger services of the Wairarapa Connection. There are five such services both ways Monday to Thursday, six services on Fridays and two services each way on Saturdays and Sundays.[9]

There is a shuttle bus service operated by Wairarapa Coachlines to transport passengers between Martinborough and the Featherston railway station. These services are timed to meet the daily commuter trains, however there is currently (as at August 2013) no service on Sunday.[10]

Previous Stop Metlink Bus Services Next Stop
Mobil Service Station
towards Martinborough		 200
Featherston - Masterton		 Kia Ora Dairy
towards Masterton
  • Southern entrance to the yard and Bell St. level crossing.
  • Aggregate supplies company yard occupying the former site of the goods shed.
  • Platform and car park.
  • Northern entrance to the yard and signals.

See also

References
  1. CHAPMAN, KATIE (5 July 2011). "$168m Wellington rail package signed". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 3 May 2015. Greater Wellington taking over ownership and responsibility for stations (other than Wellington Station), train stabling and the electric train depot.
  2. Metlink. "Text description of fare zone boundaries". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  3. "Results of survey of Wairarapa train passengers" (PDF). Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  4. Cameron, Walter Norman (1976). "Chapter 5: The Mountain Section". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. Wellington: New Zealand Railway And Locomotive Society. p. 126. ISBN 0-908573-00-6. The formation reached Featherston on 17 August 1878. With platelaying completed in September, the first train entered Featherston in the latter part of that month, though the railway was not opened to public use until 16 October.
  5. Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 159.
  6. "Priority Area – Public transport" in Staying on Track: Key work programme for 2019/20 page 5, from the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC)
  7. "New hybrid trains for Wellington snubbed in government transport package". Stuff (Fairfax). 30 January 2020.
  8. "Rail upgrades north of Wellington | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  9. "Wairarapa Line". Timetables. Metlink. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. Braddock, Rob (9 October 2007). "Wairarapa's bright new buses improve passenger access". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007. Increased services between Featherston and Martinborough, connecting with all trains to and from Wellington

Further reading
  • 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.
  • Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
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