List of Nelson railway stations

For station in Lancashire, England, see Nelson railway station.

This is a list of the stations that were established on the Nelson Section, an isolated 96 kilometres (60 mi) long railway in the Tasman district of New Zealand’s South Island. Most stations handled passenger traffic until passenger services were withdrawn in 1954, and most also handled freight. One, Gowanbridge, was never used in revenue service, and Kawatiri had a relatively short lifespan of only 5 years and 21 days. All stations, other than Gowanbridge and Kawatiri, were closed to passenger services on 13 June 1954, and to goods services, along with the line, on 3 September 1955.

List

Station	Distance (km)	Coords	Opened [1]	Closed [1]	Notes
Port Nelson (Wakefield Quay)	00.00	41°15′45.1″S173°16′13.7″E / 41.262528°S 173.270472°E / -41.262528; 173.270472 [2]	17 May 1880	3 September 1955	Station building preserved by Nelson Railway Society. Currently located at Founders Heritage Park.
Nelson	01.61	41°16′24.5″S173°16′36.3″E / 41.273472°S 173.276750°E / -41.273472; 173.276750 [2]	29 January 1876 [3] (Official Opening) 31 January 1876 [4] (Scheduled service)	3 September 1955	Station located on St. Vincent Street between Gloucester Street and Haven Road/ANZAC park; now occupied by Fire Station and shopping centre. [5]
Hampden St. Crossing		41°16′50.9″S173°16′11.6″E / 41.280806°S 173.269889°E / -41.280806; 173.269889	-		Listed in some Working Timetables as a place where the train could stop if required for school students to disembark. Not a real station.
Bishopdale, Nelson	04.67	41°17′50.1″S173°15′49.0″E / 41.297250°S 173.263611°E / -41.297250; 173.263611	29 January 1876	3 September 1955	Triangle bounded by Clarence Drive, Waimea Road and the cycle path/rail route. Preserved as ″Station Reserve″ by the Nelson City Council, but no remains.
Stoke	08.67	41°18′44.1″S173°13′50.9″E / 41.312250°S 173.230806°E / -41.312250; 173.230806 [2]			Immediately south of Songer Street. The exact line of the rail here is lost to housing.
Freezing Works	11.10	41°19′41.3″S173°12′29.8″E / 41.328139°S 173.208278°E / -41.328139; 173.208278	April 1909		Sidings alongside (now) Kotua Place, stretching south from Elms Street.
Richmond	13.52	41°20′9.20″S173°10′55.24″E / 41.3358889°S 173.1820111°E / -41.3358889; 173.1820111	29 January 1876		Located in triangle bounded by Lower Queen Street, Stratford Street, Beach Road (now Richmond Deviation) [6]
Appleby	15.13	41°20′37.7″S173°9′57.6″E / 41.343806°S 173.166000°E / -41.343806; 173.166000	23 April 1895		Immediately north of overbridge? Historical evidence needed.
Hope	16.74	41°21′9.4″S173°9′8.6″E / 41.352611°S 173.152389°E / -41.352611; 173.152389	29 January 1876		From aerial photos, station was located adjacent to where the cycle trail meets Ranzau Road; the road had an overbridge over the rail line.
Brightwater	21.24	41°22′36.3″S173°6′35.1″E / 41.376750°S 173.109750°E / -41.376750; 173.109750			Railway cut diagonally through reserve next to 4 Square on Ellis street; continuing through the now-back yards of houses on Ben Nevis Cres.
Spring Grove	23.50	41°23′4.6″S173°5′10.1″E / 41.384611°S 173.086139°E / -41.384611; 173.086139			Telenius Road; there's railway crossing and station signs here. The railway alignment clearly visible on Google Earth between here and Wakefield, mostly farm tracks and tree-lines. Station building preserved by Nelson Railway Society. Renamed to "Grove Station" and located at the end of Sovereign Street.
Wakefield	27.84	41°24′19.1″S173°2′34.8″E / 41.405306°S 173.043000°E / -41.405306; 173.043000			Station area now a small reserve, parking area, section of SH6.
Wai-iti	32.19
Foxhill	34.12		25 July 1881
Belgrove	c35.63			c.1890	First location of this station was about 100 metres south-west of the highway due to the original route chosen for the railway which was later changed. Station building preserved at Belgrove.
Belgrove	35.63		c.1890	3 September 1955	The second location of Belgrove station was established with the change of route from 1890.
Motupiko	51.34	41°27′22.9″S172°50′14.2″E / 41.456361°S 172.837278°E / -41.456361; 172.837278	16 February 1899 1 March 1899 [7] (Scheduled service)		Located alongside SH6, a few hundred metres south of the Kohatu junction; Aerial photos available. [8]
Mararewa	56.49	41°24′42.6″S172°50′20.2″E / 41.411833°S 172.838944°E / -41.411833; 172.838944	22 October 1906		Located alongside Motueka Valley Highway, adjacent to a small cemetery; Aerial photos available. [8]
Tapawera	59.22	41°23′22.5″S172°49′27.6″E / 41.389583°S 172.824333°E / -41.389583; 172.824333	6 August 1906 [9]		Matai Crescent and Main Road Tapawera; Aerial photos available. [8]
Rakau	63.73
Tadmor	68.08	41°26′18.24″S172°45′14.4″E / 41.4384000°S 172.754000°E / -41.4384000; 172.754000			Remnants of platforms clearly visible in Google satellite imagery (2026).
Kiwi	76.28	41°30′21.6″S172°44′58.1″E / 41.506000°S 172.749472°E / -41.506000; 172.749472	18 December 1908		Station building preserved at Tapawera, housing a museum. Remnants of platform clearly visible in Google satellite imagery (2026).
Tui	81.43		2 September 1912 [10]		Station building preserved by Nelson Railway Society. Located near Miyazu Japanese Gardens, Nelson.
Kaka	85.94
Glenhope	96.64	41°38′51.4″S172°38′59.3″E / 41.647611°S 172.649806°E / -41.647611; 172.649806			Station building preserved, at original location.
Kawatiri	103.20	41°41′37.28″S172°37′2.92″E / 41.6936889°S 172.6174778°E / -41.6936889; 172.6174778	21 June 1926	21 June 1931	Junction SH6/SH63. Now a reserve with displays and short walks. Shelter is not from the original station.
Gowanbridge	109.50		August 1930	3 October 1932	Never used for timetabled or revenue traffic.

Note, Mararewa is described as a ″stopping place for passengers″ ^[1] by Juliet Scoble, and did not reopen after June 13, 1954.

See also

• Nelson Section
• Nelson Railway Society, which has the Tui railway station

References

• Quail Map Company (1993). Yonge, John (ed.). New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). England: The Quail Map Company. p. 17. ISBN   0-900609-92-3.
• O’Donnell, Barry (2005). When Nelson Had A Railway: The Life And Death Of New Zealand’s Last Isolated Railway 1876–1955. Wellington: Schematics Limited. ISBN   0-476-01119-1.

1. Juliet Scoble (April 2010), Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand (PDF), Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, Wikidata   Q140753070
2. Map of Nelson and Environs (NZMS 17 Nelson) (1st ed.). Department of Lands and Survey. August 1954. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
3. "Opening of the Nelson and Fox Hill Railway". The Colonist. 1 February 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
4. "untitled". Nelson Evening Mail. 28 January 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
5. "Nelson city with railway buildings in the foreground". Rob and Lynn Packer Collection, Tasman District Libraries. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
6. "Map of the Nelson A&P Assn. grounds in 1900". Tasman District Libraries. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
7. "N.Z.R. Nelson Section". Nelson Evening Mail. 2 March 1899. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
8. "Nelson Section [7]: Belgrove-Tapawera 1". New Zealand Rail Maps. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
9. "Opening the Tadmor Railway". The Colonist. 8 June 1906. Retrieved 29 July 2006.
10. "The Glenhope Railway Extension". The Colonist. 2 September 1912. Retrieved 29 July 2026.