KiwiRail Upgrades: Wellington Station Re-signalling
Description
This project is a major step towards modernising Wellington’s rail network.
Much of the signalling system at Wellington Railway Station dates back to 1937. To allow for future growth and keep pace with current technology, KiwiRail is upgrading it to a digital system.
Replacing 90 years of historical assets in New Zealand’s most complex railway junction is a big and delicate job. As well as new signalling infrastructure, the project includes track work, with the installation of 14 new turnouts in the approaches to Wellington Railway Station and a 7.6km duct route for signalling and power cabling.
The signals at Wellington Railway Station are currently controlled from a signal box in the station approaches known as A-Box. It’s the last full-time manned signal box in the country. By January 2025, A-Box will close, and signalling for Wellington’s rail network will be controlled entirely from the Wallaceville train control centre.
Progress Update: Works in progress.
Updates
Four days of uninterrupted access meant KiwiRail could make significant advancements at Wellington Station, including the arrival of the first of four new signal huts and the installation of 10 new signals. With up to 160 personnel ‘locked on’ (officially counted onto the worksite) at Easter 2024, Wellington Railway Station was the busiest KiwiRail worksite in the country.
During the two-week network shutdown just after Christmas, KiwiRail installed one track turnout and did the foundation work for six more, as well as re-laying the track at platforms 8 and 9 to allow trains all the way to the end.
KiwiRail has now poured the concrete foundations for three of the four planned signal control huts.
The new ‘handsketch’ has been finalised – this is the layout for every bit of signalling, axle counter, point controls etc. at Wellington Station. It'll be the blueprint not just for the re-signalling project but for how the station is managed and maintained in the future.
Benefits
Due to safety regulations, KiwiRail can’t increase the frequency or number of trains at Wellington Railway Station while we are still using the old signalling system. Upgrading to a digital signalling system will therefore unlock the station’s capacity to support more local and regional train services in the future.
Customer Impact
Because this complex work can only happen when trains aren’t running on any of the lines, buses will replace train services on public holidays, many weekends and overnight from Sunday to Wednesday on two weeks each month.