Kāpiti Line services have resumed this afternoon after a downed overhead wire caused widespread disruption and left one train stuck on a rail bridge earlier today.
KiwiRail Wellington metro general manager Andy Lyon said a cable came down at 7.50am on the line near Wellington Station.
The resulting power loss affected three trains, forcing them to stop away from platforms.
“Two were moved earlier this morning so that people could disembark,” Lyon said in a statement.
A third train was moved into Wellington Station by a diesel locomotive after it was stuck on a rail bridge over Hutt Rd.
KiwiRail and Metlink said 152 passengers onboard a Kāpiti Line service from Waikanae were stuck on the train for three and a half hours.
Passengers disembarked the train at 11.20am after KiwiRail crews were able to turn off the power and carefully remove the wire.
Lyon said teams worked hard to replace the wire so services could resume this afternoon.
“The safest place for the passengers was to stay on that train, and we acknowledge the stress it caused,” he said.
“We need to understand what caused the power cable to come down, so it is not repeated. The focus now is on the investigation, with Wellington metro operator Transdev, into the incident.”
Kāpiti Line services have resumed ahead of this afternoon’s peak, and buses are continuing to replace trains on the Johnsonville Line due to a separate signals fault.
‘Urinating on the tracks’
Metlink senior manager Paul Tawharu said passengers were given “emergency toilet supplies to use while onboard the train”.
“It’s a very vulnerable position to be in to have to use emergency toilet supplies – those products are on rail services to be used as a last resort, and our onboard staff provided the best support they could,” he said.
“We were pleased to see people were in good spirits when they arrived at Wellington Station, and thank our onboard staff for their role in keeping passengers safe and informed about what was happening.”
One parent, Michael Pearson, told 1News earlier today that his daughter described the situation on board as dire.
“There were blokes hanging off the back of the train and urinating on the tracks,” he said.
Lyon acknowledged it had been tough for the stranded passengers.
“We were dealing with high voltage electrical cables and we had to ensure safety.”
He said Wellington’s overhead infrastructure was “not that old” and that the cause of the wire coming down was still unknown.
“This incident will be fully investigated.”
