Johnsonville Branch

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Johnsonville Branch
A southbound DM class EMU just south of Raroa Railway Station on the Johnsonville Branch.
Info
Type	commuter rail
System	Metlink
Status	Open, passenger only
Locale	Wellington, New Zealand
Terminals	Wellington Johnsonville
No. of stations	8
Operation
Opened	1938-07-02
Owner	ONTRACK
Operator(s)	Tranz Metro
Character	Urban
Rolling stock	DM-class EMUs
Technical
Line length	10.49 km
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Operating speed	64 km/h (maximum) 40 km/h (maximum in tunnels)
Highest elevation	152 m (Raroa)
Line map Legend 10.49 Johnsonville Former goods shed and yard Broderick Road Tunnel No. 7 Tui (119 m) 9.2 Raroa Former sidings & stock yard Fraser Avenue Rangoon Street Tunnel No. 6 Kaka (104 m) Station Road / Cashmere Avenue 8.0 Khandallah Khandallah Road 7.2 Box Hill 6.9 Simla Crescent Simla Crescent 6.0 Awarua Street Awarua Street Collingwood Street 5.2 Ngaio Churchill Drive 4.9 Crofton Downs Tunnel No. 5 Ngaio (127 m) Tunnel No. 4 Lizard (199 m) Wadestown loop Tunnel No. 3 Gorge (151 m) Tunnel No. 2 Kaiwarra (98 m) Tunnel No. 1 Outlet (126 m) Hutt Road North Island Main Trunk Railway and Wairarapa Line State Highway 1 Wellington railyards 0.0 Wellington

The Johnsonville Branch is a commuter branch line railway owned by ONTRACK from Wellington, New Zealand to the northern suburb of Johnsonville, and serving Ngaio and Khandallah en route. Tranz Metro operates the trains under contract from the Greater Wellington Regional Council and brands services on the branch as the Johnsonville Line.

[edit] History

The line was built in the 1880s as part of the private Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company line to connect Wellington to Longburn. Construction first started in 1879, and the first section to Paremata was opened by the WMR on 24 September 1885. The line became part of the North Island Main Trunk when the government bought the WMR in December 1908.

The line was used by railway workers from the Tarikaka Settlement in Ngaio, including early shift workers needed to to fire up steam locomotives at the Wellington depot.

Two experimental RM class railcars were briefly used on the line as NZR sought to develop economically viable railcar technology. The Westinghouse railcar was introduced in 1914 and served through to 1917. The Thomas Transmission railcar was introduced in 1916 and operated sporadically into the early 1920s. Both railcars struggled on the line's steep grades and revealed that further advances were needed to make railcars suitable to New Zealand's conditions.

The line became a branch when the Tawa Flat deviation of the NIMT opened to passengers in 1937, and was sometimes called The Hill (in NZR jargon). The line was electrified at 1500 V DC overhead supply, and the first passenger train using the new English Electric DM/D class electric multiple units ran on 2 July 1938. The "units" are normally operated as two-car motor/trailer sets, four-car sets in peak hours.

The line was terminated in Johnsonville about 100 m beyond the end of the current line: the State Highway 1 motorway on-ramp follows the route of the old line. Ngaio and Khandallah stations had crossing loops, and a third crossing loop at Wadestown plus stations at Awarua Street and Simla Crescent were added.

Later stations were added at Raroa (1940), Box Hill (1956) and Crofton Downs (1963). Additional DM/D class units for the line were ordered in 1942, supplied in 1946; and in 1946, delivered 1949-1953.

The line was reviewed in 1984 and 1993 to consider either closing or upgrading it, without any significant changes being made.

[edit] Services

A half-hourly service runs daily, augmented to a 13/13/26 minute pattern at peak periods.

The line has been passenger-only since the termination of livestock trains for an abattoir in the Ngauranga Gorge. The livestock were originally driven on foot through Johnsonville streets, but after protests sidings near Raroa were opened on 2 February 1958. The livestock traffic ceased about 1973, though the sidings at Raroa were not lifted until about 1982. Because of the sharp curves on the line, EW class electric locomotives were used for livestock trains instead of the earlier ED class locomotives, which were hard on the track with their long rigid wheelbase.

[edit] Infrastructure

The line is single track through very steep terrain rising 150 m above sea level in its 10 km length, with the highest point (152 m) at the north end of No 6 tunnel. It has seven narrow tunnels, six bridges, three passing loops and three level crossings (two with barriers, the Fraser Avenue crossing has warning lights only). The ruling grade is 1 in 36. An estimated 1,200 passengers use the line each working day.

[edit] Future

The North Wellington Public Transport Study by GWRC and WCC considered four options for improved public transport: enhanced rail; bus on street; conversion to a guided busway; and conversion to light rail. On 16 November 2006 the GWRC Public Transport Committee[1] and the WCC Strategy & Policy Committee[2] accepted a "Do Minimum" option to retain the line without enhancement by replacing the current units with the EM/ET class units used elsewhere in the Wellington urban rail system, and enlarging the tunnels to enable these units to fit. New units ordered by GWRC will also be able to run on the line.

GWRC envisaged (2007) that the track through the tunnels would need to be lowered by 120 mm, though this depends on the new units. Lengthening of passing loops and platforms may also be needed, and the likely cost is $5 million. Wellington City Council is proposing to replace the Rangoon Street single-lane overbridge of c1906 and widen the Broderick Road overbridge. The upgrading of the Johnsonville Town Centre should include improvements to the rail and bus terminal at Johnsonville.

[edit] References

• Churchman, Geoffrey B. ; The Story of The Wellington to Johnsonville Railway, Industrial Publishing Ltd (New Zealand), 1988, ISBN 0-9597832-1-0

[edit] External links

• Johnsonville Line: Photos, Signalling
• North Wellington Public Transport Study
• Railways of New Zealand: Wellington & Manawatu Railway
• George, David (2006-08-29). Johnsonville bus lane – no worries – we’re just the owner. ONTRACK. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
• Johnsonville Town Centre Plan
• Invitation to Opening (NZR Publicity picture)