Having grown up in Wellington and now living on the Gold Coast, I had never really considered how lucky Wellington is to have such a good railway network relative to it’s size The Johnsonville line was often under threat of being discontinued, particularly in the 90s, but thanks to Peter Dunne being the MP of the area and leader of a minor party that often found itself being required to prop up the government, the Johnsonville line managed to survive

Really great video for us railfans with international interests. I haven't been in Wellington since 1970 but I remember those distinctive English Electric suburban trains, with distinctive squat barrel profile to fit through long tight tunnels!

Hey man, current driver on the suburban trains here :) excellent video overall, my only *very* slight gripe is how old all the footage is versus the upload date. But then again, you are referencing the history of the network too so it does make sense that it's a lot of older images. You're right that extending the main line south is a bit expensive for a smaller city, but additionally we're sitting directly on top of earthquake faults here so extensive underground tunneling is significantly more expensive. Also, the government has literally only just confirmed it's support of a light rail line extending from the main station to the south coast suburb of Island Bay with a future eastbound extension to the airport on the cards eventually. There are also longer term plans being developed to extend the network further north and eventually have a Palmerston North to Wellington network operating as one. Thanks for chucking some focus down our way 😁

Love to see more of New Zealand railways, bus and trams . I’m from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺.

What a blast from the past! I rode every mile of the Wellington network (plus the entirety of the then steam-powered Main Trunk) as a schoolboy from 1954-57. It served us well to get from our boarding school to sporting and cultural events. When I began commuting from Blackwood to Adelaide in 1978 near the end of the Red Hen era I would sometimes recall quite wistfully the smooth, quiet power (for then) of the Wellington sets. Thanks for the memories!

I've lived in Wellington for most of my teenage and adult life. Recently moved to another city and man do I miss the trains. Where I live now has only buses and it takes an hour by bus to the central city, a trip that takes 20 mins by car and would probably take roughly the same amount by train.

Those matangi trains are some of the best looking trains I have ever seen. IDK what it is they just look amazing.

As someone who lives in Welly so good to see this! Wellington has such a cool little rail network, but sadly the government doesn't want to pay to keep it to standard. New rolling stock is needed, and electrification to Masterton and Palmy is required. Double tracking in more parts is necessary and new/ upgraded stations. But nothing for the mo :-(

How this ended in my list of watch next is a mystery however, truly enjoyed watching this from start to finish being a settled in adopted local. Brilliant to see where some of the lines were cut off because Melling and Johnsonville lines last stops always didn't make sense to me, especially Melling. Nice to walk through some of its history.

Very interesting! I had no idea that Wellington had such a nice regional rail system. I'd never really looked up transport in New Zealand, I just figured that since the cities are pretty small they wouldn't have much urban rail.

Thank you for such an informative video! I'm a Wellingtonian myself and travelled on the Kapiti line every day for about five years. It was only in about 2018 when the rail services changed from hourly off-peak to every half hour if I recall correctly. Also your proposed rail network to the airport and Miramar is included in a new government plan to build lightweight rail throughout the city. Looking forward to being able to take the train to work!

I used to live in paekakriki, and I was always interested in the other lines for some reason. Now that I live near palmerston north I figured how far the rail line went, and I was amazed! Thank you for this video

Excellent summary of the Wellington train network. I grew up there and was a bit of a train nerd as a kid.

Used to work with an ex Wellington driver. He reckoned the the English Electrics were good to drive and virtually indestructible because everything was so heavily built.

Great video. Yes Wellington has an amazing rail network for such a small city. Being the capital must help. Glad New Zealand has a habit of keeping old track intact in case it can be used later. We in the Gold Coast Queensland have long known the "advantage" of closing railway lines because we thought cars were the way to go then spending billions (think of all that construction work) to re-add them again on inferior routes so that they remain a very minor part of the commuter picture.

Thank you for a very interesting video. I grew up in Wellington but hardly ever used the system. All the best from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

I ride these trains regularly, quite a good service

This is the most youtube video of all time. Enthrwaled the whole time. I love wellington trains so much 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

I doubt Wellington CBD and southern suburbs could have a underground light-rail, being prone to earthquakes and expecting the big one for over 50 years could be deemed unsafe. Great video, you did wonders for our city, beautiful photos.

It should be noted that NZ ( and Wellington in particular) is subject to frequent earthquakes which can play havoc with the rails...On the western edge of the harbour the rail track runs along or beside a fault line which can be readily seen in the photos...

Nice video. I visited Wellington in 2007 so I got to ride the pre-Matangi system as well as the trolley buses. Great fun! I must go back one day.

Great video. Interesting how the terrain has helped concentrate development which has in turn enabled a good railway system!

Great video... very interesting. I've watched one or two driver's eye view vids from the area before but this is the first one giving context and history. It's concise and evidently well researched. Subscribed!

You have taught me something and I live in the south island of NZ. An informative quality production, full of facts, and pleasingly not hyperbolic. Cheers

Just a thing about the Capital connection: The reason why it's run by Kiwirail (and isn't part of metlink) is because it's an interregional service. The Wellington region ends north of Otaki, and everything that service serve's north of Otaki (Levin, Shannon & Palmerston North) are part of the Manawatu-Whanganui region. So the subsidies are split and Kiwirail provides the service & drivers.

You did really well with the pronunciations. I only noticed one minor mistake. I grew up in Masterton and your pronunciation of Wairarapa was excellent. I’m not a train buff at all, but I love your videos, and find them well thought out narrated. Was great to see this video as I’ve not been back to NZ since before covid, so it was nice seeing my favourite city from a very different perspective. I seem to remember some issue with the tunnel sizing and the new trains, but that was years ago. Hope you also rode the cable car. They used to run trolley busses throughout Wellington, but sadly replaced them. That was a mistake I think.

I liked that. Cheers. A million years ago I used to live in Wellington and the Hutt Valley, rode those old red trains a lot. Your vid brought it all back.

Very well done and interesting summary of Wellington's railway network

The red cars were fully restored mechanically at the various workshops around the country after being brought back from museums. A great harkback to older economic models I felt. Involved one off remanufacturing in some cases

This is genuinely one of my favourite videos on youtube, and i am watching this for the 5th time!

Fantastic! I lived here for two years and took the trains daily, with the Johnsonville line being my main train. I loved it.

Great video! Was much needed

Thanks for this excellent description of the great Wellington railway network. If you visit again, you will be impressed by new station construction on all the lines and new double tracking between Tenth am and Upper Hutt on the Hutt Line.

Very cool video! I myself can also agree that the EE's and Ganz's are very cool units, have lots of fond memories of them when I was young.

I live right by the ngaio station on the J’ville line. Wonderful service and as you say the bush reserve along the Kaiwharawhara valley makes one forget they are almost in the city.

I was in Wellington a couple of weeks ago. I took the Wairarapa train out to Masterton to catch up with friends. Great trip!

Very good informative video! Great job

I love this video. I'm loving your in-depth explanation videos so far. Could you maybe do one or more talking about Sydney trains/light-rail/metro related stuff or networks in other cities in Australia, and of course whatever else in Melbourne you think would be good content?

Honestly, the Wellington trains are so much better than the ones here in Auckland. Trains in Wellington are very fast and scenic. The ones in Auckland are extremely slow and slack, and they never appear on time, and they aren't very scenic.

Fascinating and enjoyable video. Although I live in Britain, I've had an interest in NZ railways since my first visit in the 1970s. After travelling overnight from Auckland on the Silver Star sleeper, I saw the Wellington suburban system for the first time and got a photo of one of the English Electric locomotives. Unfortunately, there were no trains from Picton to Christchurch so had to take the bus. After touring South Island with a rental car, I took a local train to Lyttleton Harbour(I still have the rail ticket) for the then direct ferry back to Wellington. I did notice abandoned electrification gantries whilst at Lyttleton. Back in Wellington, I then caught the Silver Fern back to Auckland so was able to see the North Island Main Trunk Line in daylight. Seeing the suburban electrified systems around both Wellington and now Auckland, it is disappointing that Kiwi Rail and its predecessor NZR have put their faith in Diesels, most regrettably Chinese ones, when the cost of fossil fuels has gone through the roof. Even the electric trolleybuses of Wellington were doomed- seems crazy.

Wellingtion Pretty much has the perfect suburban sprawl pattern for commuter rail. Long narrow strips of suburbia. Cant say the same for Auckland, for the most part.

Great video, love to see our little city get a chance in the spotlight. I'm a born and bred Wellingtonian. I think our rail network is perfect for the city, it's a great size and connects all the right places. More recently the government has started to invest into Wellington's rail network with the Future Rail Project which aims to increase resiliency to funding new hybrid rolling stock for the Wairarapa and Capital Connection services, (begrudgingly) phasing out our Victorian era ticketing system (where you'd go to a booking office and buy a single ticket or buy a ticket from the guard on board)and the current and ongoing refurbishment of the Capital Connection carriages to modern safety and accessibility standards however, with Wellington's growing population and the expansion of suburbs like Churton Park, I suspect more investment into new stations, extensions to lines or even new lines entirely may be warranted (ambitious I know since the government can't even get LGWM off the ground, you know what I mean Wellingtonians). The Matangi fleet are certainly great trains and even for being introduced in 2011/2012, they still look so modern, and clean and are definitely a nice upgrade from the EE and Ganz sets. I've gotten to the point in my life where I've grown up with the Matangi sets for longer than the Ganz and EE sets though I do remember them fondly whenever I would take the train with my grandma from the Hutt to the city or the rare occasions I'd take the train on the Johnsonville line. I could be misremembering but I swear the Ganz sets also ran on the jville line, at least at some point, I don't know, could be a Mandela effect. I know the vid is a year old but now is certainly a great time for Wellington Rail with all the improvements. I sure hope you plan on coming back in about 5 or 10 years once all the upgrades are complete.

Great video, thanks for sharing.

Love the snowy hills and those rugged looking trains.

I play Transport Fever and have 3 lines south of the main Wellington station. one to service the airport and peninsula you mentioned. Funny that and then watching this video a year or so later.

Very interesting and thank you!

I used to take the system from Paekakariki down to Wellington for various events or to see friends. It’s a beautiful ride from Paekakariki down to the Wellington station with gorgeous landscapes and seascapes all the way. Highly recommend it! Definitely better than driving.

I didn't knew it hat such a challenging geography, very interresting video.

With 40 seconds to go, you haven't mentioned the trolleybus network, which replaced trams and filled the voids. Alas, closed in the modern era. Wellington station was a 1930s grand project, partly on reclaimed land, replacing two terminuses closer to the cbd. Trolleybuses provided the essential link, similar to the Sydney underground connecting Central to the cbd. Johnsonville was fascinating, with automatic signalling, and crossing loops capable of holding only two-car trains. One four-car set could run in each peak, running around a two-car held in a loop. In one bold experiment, a Ganz-Mavag was tiptoed to Johnsonville, but the type was never placed in revenue service there. That is why the EE sets survived as long as they did. With the Tawa Flat deviation, all trains were hauled by electric locos to Paekakariki, and changed to steam there. Before the two-stage extension of electrification, two peak emus were extended to Paraparaumu, hauled by diesels. The sets had extra batteries to run the lighting and the doors.

Perhaps someone could add a video and commentary on the Cable Car that runs from the CBD up to Kelburn and the university. A ride on this uncommon means of transport is well worthwhile

Thank you for this

Great video!

i grew up on wellington used to catch the trains alot. i got no idea how you know so much about the history

Great video, congratulations on the book cover.

11:37 my dad wrote that book, he may still have copies of the book

the small EMUs on the cape gauge tracks running through mountains covered in greenery reminds me of Japan

5:43 That's near my house! The Johnsonville line has a lot of stations quite close together, but I can't gripe, because I live ~3 minutes from one.

Very interesting and excellent quality video. I was at first surprised to see that the old E series units ( as Wellingtonians call them ) were shown running as they have been gone for at least a couple-three years... they were adequate but many seemed to have leakage problems which made them smell quite musty. The F series, the new Korean trains, are excellent--quick, quiet, clean and ride well. I had 4 years using my Gold card on the Wairarapa Line, on the Featherston Flyer-- the carriages, very nicely re-upholstered in the past 3 years, are quite comfortable, the best of them having the large windows, power points for every seat, brilliant lighting and plenty of sought after tables. Average speed over the 90 minute trip is about 61 km/hr, with a dizzying top speed of 91 on a good day as you hit the rise to the tunnel, heading south.

taitset railway tycoon - I support it!

Very nice video! Some of the Commonwealth Railways NSU classes were tested on the mainline in the UK, which just goes to show how small trains over there really are.

Great video - many thanks. I travelled the Hutt-Wellington line most working days for over 40 years from the - 1971/2014 - with a few years’ hiatus down south. I still have a box of rail tickets to prove it. Unreliable service? Just go use the Auckland rail service - enough said! The Wellington rail service is exceptional and the quicker a line is built to the airport the better.

Worth noting that there was, at one point (1893 - 1917) a short extension of the rail service along the waterfront through what is now the CBD operated to a station that would be now in the Courtenay Place precinct. The branch was intended to travel all the way to Island Bay on Wellington's southern coast. Sadly, businesses and residents found the steam locomotives disruptive, and competition from the tram network saw services fall from 212 services a week in 1904 to just 62 services a week by 1916.

I wished I watched this video before I rode on the Wellington trains. The rail lines are so beautiful! But I wonder why the Kapiti Line tunnels are so long that affected cell service haha. Should have packed a book, preferably about rail, to survive the tunnels :D

Johnsonville line reminds me of the Belair line on the Adelaide Metro network, sister city of Otautahi Christchurch

Quite an interesting network, I'd love to visit and go for a ride some day. Those old english electric sets look lovely though I imagine they wouldn't be the nicest to ride on a daily basis as a commuter in the 2010s! I would suggest they could perhaps build a light rail to serve that unserved area to the south, unfortunate they ripped out both the trams AND subsequently the trolleybuses that served there.

Wellingtonian here. You did better on pronunciation than most pakeha in New Zealand. :D About the only pronounciation you had that made me wince was Aotearoa, and that was mostly an aussie accent thing. Also the timing of this video is a bit funny, since they just announced plans to set up rail further south. I dont think it gets quite to the airport but it gets pretty close. IF they ever get around to building it.

Well thank YOU!

In North America, waterloo Ontario is the outlier having a 19km lrt system for a city of only 500k, yet in New Zealand has a 150km long suburban network😧

I must ask where did you get that Metlink mug from? (2:05)

Thanks for this very impressive video. It provides a really good summary of the Wellington rail system which is such a vital part of the region’s infrastructure - as anyone will attest who tries to drive into Wellington on a day when the trains aren’t running - such as when a major storm lashes the region. You’ve covered off the challenging geography of the Wellington area really well, including the point that it’s a region of distinct cities and urban areas, one of which, Wellington itself, dominates. Auckland is also dominated by its geography, in a way that’s not dissimilar to Sydney, but its urban area is still much more contiguous than Wellington’s. I do agree with @Daniel Eyre’s comment in that, although the Wellington system stands out in the “Anglosphere” for serving such a small city, I don’t think it would be that remarkable in a European context. Wellington’s rail system is arguably much more inter-urban than urban, and in that sense it does have parallels with the networks that serve smaller regions in various parts of Europe, like some of the TER systems in France, for example, or some of the smaller S-Bahn systems in the German-speaking countries. It’s not uncommon to see double-decker trains operating on regional systems based around various smallish middle-European cities - look at Luxembourg for example - although not necessarily with the peakiness of demand that Wellington has to deal with, meaning that the two main lines have 10 minute peak frequencies - a 20 minute middle distance stopper alternating with a 20 minute longer distance express (combined into a single longer distance all stops pattern in the middle of the day). You talk about the station being at the “northern end of the CBD”. A hundred years ago, the railways began to be used to enable urban development, directly related to Wellington’s role as the national capital. The first stage of the Hutt Valley deviation (that eventually led to Melling becoming a branch line terminus) was built in the 1920s, to enable what we might now call transit-oriented development (albeit at low densities) - public (“state”) housing for government workers in particular, who were able to be transported very efficiently to and from their jobs in government departments that were all located within a few hundred metres of Wellington Station. That, plus the challenging geography, became the main reason why electrification was justified from 1938 onwards. Lastly, to the point about “no, not that Metlink” (2:06) - I was indirectly responsible for Wellington adopting that name in (from memory) 2005. I then worked for Greater Wellington Regional Council and we (staff and our design consultants) were talking to councillors about a name to go with the logo which had been introduced a couple of years earlier with the restructured Hutt Valley bus network. We were looking to develop a system-wide brand, initially for public transport information, and subsequently applied across all buses in the region as well as the trains. We had in mind some more adventurous names, but I referred to the examples of “Transperth'' and “Metlink” from across the Tasman, whereupon the then chair of the regional council said - “Metlink, that’ll do, let’s use that”, or words to that effect, and so - having checked out any copyright issues - Metlink it was! Thanks again for the great video! Anthony Cross

Honestly, I'm kind of sad they updated the look of the matangi trains, They looked super cool with all the wiring, reminds me of the electric locos of the 80s and 90s here in the UK! Have to admit aswell, those English Electric units look absolutely amazing. Also glad to see them still putting our old MK2s to good use, they look completely different now. Great little video though!

There are actually three stretches of the Johnsonville line that use twin tracks so trains can pass each other going in opposite directions; before Crofton Downs, at Ngaio station, and at Khandallah station.

The Melling line, I believe, originally ran all the way up to Haywards Power Station and provided a rail link for heavy supplies direct from the Wharves, while the Cook Strait DC to AC Conversion Power Station was being built. The Hutt Valley line originally stayed on the Eastern side of the river all the way up to Upper Hutt. Remnants of this section are at the Silverstream Heritage Railway site off Reynolds Bach Drive. Interesting point about having a rail line cross Wellington City is that it would have to cross the Active Wellington Fault Line (again) to pass through the city.

The Johnsonville line is so fun

You covered the net work well. We use the capital connection daily and the coaches are ex british rail 1st class units bought back in the 1980s. They are really at the end of their life.

0:28 if you include Europe in "the western world" (which I would), it's not THAT uncommon. I live in a city of 600k in Germany, and we got an "s-Bahn" heavy rail network. But I get what you mean, it's pretty uncommon in the americas, Australia and nz. But there's also an argument to be made that Wollongong has a heavy rail commuter network (especially the Port Kembla - Thirroul section). It's just also part of the larger Sydney network. Great video anyway :)

Looking at the places that aren't served by rail in Wellington, I think it would actually be a brilliant idea to bring back trams to those areas. Like proper modern trams with dedicated lanes and signal timings.

Fun fact knuckle matangi units still exist catched one a few days ago

I was very rare, but i do recall on one or two occasions seeing the English Electrics run on the Kapiti Line. I never actually rode one myself.....I was still at school when they were retired and rarely used trains. The big advantage of the Matangi's over their predecessors is easier wheelchair access, as the non-power car is low floor with no steps upon entry. The ramps (fitted by the green doors) are much easier to use than the stowed fold-out ramps used on the Ganz Mavag's, and there are dedicated wheelchair spaces on board, along with space for bikes as well! Also, I understand from some friends more into rail than me that the Ganz Mavag's were unsuitable for the Johnsonville line, hence they were almost never used on it. The ticket system is on it's way out...Snapper, Wellington's tag-on tag-off ticket system used on the bus network, is already on the Johnsonville line and will be on the other lines by the end of the year, hopefully.

Oh! Now do Christchurch, NZ's second largest city! You'll get 0:00 mins of content! Or maybe a minute, documenting the tram network thats been ripped up, served by a restored tourist tram. And the aforementioned Ferrymead, preserving old stock. Or the central city rail station, now replaced by two car yards and a petrol station.

As someone who has traveled all welington lines (besides the captail connection) id say I like the kapti line and Johnson vile line never got to try the old kapti line with Johnsonvile connected

Not sure why this video was recommended to me, but it was an interesting watch. I live in Wellington. I would love to see the railway extended to airport and into Miramar, but realistically, building such a line underground in the city with its heritage buildings and earthquake issues is unfeasible. Also, I suspect there really wouldn't be the requirement. I think a light railway or tram along the waterfront to the airport would be more viable.

The ganz sets sheared alot of equipment with Melbournes comeng trains wich is pretty cool

Felt like correcting some pronunciation errors 👍 (for the most part you did do well) Paekakariki: Pie-ka-ka-re-key Waikanae: Why-ka-n-i Obviously not overly important to the video but nonetheless. Great video :) (Also recently there was some showings of old steam trains at the wellington station, some they had going aswell!)

Great video! Very informative. Is there any chance of covering the Auckland network as well? Also re the airport line - Wellington is meant to be getting a light rail network but our governments over here are not very good at actually getting things built so who knows if or when that will happen

This was really good to see as a Welly local - and you did pretty alright with the pronounciations (except for Waikanae - it's pronounced "waikanai", not "waikanay"). I thought I'd share some more details regarding why there's no rail in Southern Wellington. For starters, it would be very risky to build an underground extension of the heavy rail system through the CBD as the land Wellington is built on is very geologically unstable, and a lot of it is reclaimed (back in ye olden times the shoreline was originally on what is today Lambton Quay). There are plans to build a light rail line from Wellington Station to the airport, although unfortunately none of them have managed to seriously get off the ground yet (but it is virtually inevitable at this point that it will be built someday, the question is just how soon). The Wellington Regional Council also has plans to replace the diesel-hauled services with bi-mode multiple units to increase service on the Wairarapa and Capital Connection lines, but for some reason funding for them wasn't included in this year's Emissions Reduction Fund from the central govt. - the council was mad about that. Hopefully these plans will materialize soon enough tho. Update May 2023: It appears that the central govt. has officially greenlit the procurement of 18 four-car tri-mode multiple units for the Wairarapa and Capital Connections services, with them expecting the new trains to be in service by 2028-29ish - yay!

I think you nailed the pronunciation!

I commute on the Kapiti line almost daily. The best part is definitely the scenic views and the worst is the payment system. You have to pay by cash when on the train and the only way to use eftpos is at the stations ticket stands which are not always open. You receive a paper ticket which can be easy to loose and very expensive if you buy something like a monthly pass. If they implemented a card system, something like the Myki cards in Melbourne I think it would make a great improvement to the network.

What if they connect the Airport and peninsula via extending the spur lines of Johnsonville and Melling. Like Johnsonville Line going to the Airport then goes to the south part of the peninsula while Melling goes to the north part of it. The Hutt Valley one can go further south towards that valley adjacent those hills before the Airport. Kapiti Line could skirt along the coast of the west part of that northern harbor and down to the Airport and then skirt westward to that valley meeting up with the Hutt Valley Line forming a loop there. Just a thought ~

The introduction of Snapper (bus) cards on this rail network has begun on the Johnsonville line and will shortly occur on the Hutt Valley lines. Visitors from places like Sydney will find that much more user friendly.

Fantastic video! Just a bit of boring history, but possibly fairly unique for cities anywhere. The two diverging lines from the city, although following the range divides, were built for very different reasons, and by very different bodies. Wellington in the 1870's was a small settlement by any standards with a population of around 20,000. Encompassed by a harbour and large ranges, there was a need for the settlement to receive its commodities, especially produce, and also a way to expand the burgeoning population and to expand its economy. With this in mind, and borrowing large sums of cash, the Government chose the route through to the fertile Wairarapa as its farmlands were deemed ripe for settlement and farming on a substantial scale, not only to service the cities needs, but also the railway was realistically the only practical way to get the farmers produce to Wellingtons excellent harbour for export. The Hutt Valley at the time and beyond were very sparsely populated, and running the railway through the area encouraged suburban development to a previously unheard of extent. On the other side of the region the coastal areas were already well established, with existing settlements regularly dotted up the coast continuing northwards. With the government reluctant to build yet another railway line, some rather enterprising (and deep pocketed) locals borrowed some more money from England, although most of it was raised locally, and built the coastal railway as basically a transport system to already established settlements. Essentially the wairarapa line brought settlers to the farmlands and brought their results to the city and the harbour, the coastal line brought goods from the city and harbour out to the established settlements. Rather awkwardly Wellington for 50 years until 1937 had the rather dubious distinction of two main railway stations, one for each line, even decades after the government took over the private line in 1908. Apologies for the too long comment

The railway was supposed to go all the way to Island Bay once upon a time (the airport and the eastern suburbs were mostly farmland at that point). But rails only reached as far as the former Te Aro station just south of where Te Papa is now between Cable and Wakefield streets. It being built in the late 1890s it was served by steam, and steam going through the city centre was not very popular. Electrification would have been more complicated back then and people would have rightly said that the tram network already served the city well enough so the rails were ripped up in 1917. If it had stuck around slightly longer it may have received electrification and a significant upgrade.

The Ganz EMUs sounded like the NSW V sets to me.

there are plans in the works for wellington to build a light rail system from the station to the south coast in Island bay

1067? That’s the main gauge for railways in my country

My father was an engineer responsible for NZ electric traction in the 50s and 60s. As a child I often heard stories of interesting fault-finding challenges. I seldom rode the trains because we lived near the central city. I did not hear of the longest double track tunnel story though. Interesting for me is that until recently (even now?) the ticketing system dates from before computer printers. Tickets were/are cardboard pre-printed with the journey they covered. A ticket seller would choose from a board and sell the ticket. None of this new-fangled computer business. Both Wellington and Auckland built new city stations in the 1930s, in each case withdrawing to the edge of the CBD, thus crippling the usefulness of the suburban network in the city centre. Just now being sorted in Auckland. Good video thanks, covered all I knew and more.

This was really interesting, thank you. You forgot to mention though that the service is very unreliable, and with the smallest frost all services are stopped. With global warming and all the adverse weather conditions we’ve been having, it really doesn’t meet the standards it needs to

Central Govt have just announced (yesterday) light rail (modern trams) from Wellington Central Railway Station to Lyall Bay. Wellington it seems is going full circle. Whether it happens in my life time is the big question

This is an excellent breakdown of the railways in the Wellington region. Yes the population isn’t that high, but it’s still well patronised and the geography makes it ideal. But it’s not that unusual for cities in Europe or east Asia with a similar population base to have passenger rail. I know that it might be odd for Australia though LOL. And yes it would be great if the trains were one day extended underground into Wellington.

Good video comment. Plans have been released for a NZ$7.4 billion upgrade of the rail infrastructure on the greater Wellington rail network to future proof the network for increase freight and passenger capacity and the effects of a warming planet. All electric multiple units in Wellington are custom built to fit the narrow tunnels on the Johnsonville line, which was part of the original line from Wellington to Longburn (Palmerston North) built in the late 1880's.