Melling railway station

For the disused UK station, see Melling railway station (Lancashire).

Melling
Metlink suburban rail, Habourview, Tirohanga, and the northern end of the Lower Hutt CBD.
General information
Location	Pharazyn Street, Melling, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Coordinates	41°12′13.12″S174°54′18.94″E / 41.2036444°S 174.9052611°E / -41.2036444; 174.9052611
Owned by	Greater Wellington Regional Council
Line(s)	Melling Branch
Platforms	Island
Tracks	1
Connections	Bus services
Construction
Parking	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	26 May 1908
Rebuilt	1 March 1954
Electrified	1 March 1954
Previous names	Melling Settlement
Services
Preceding station Transdev Wellington Following station Terminus Melling Line Western Hutt towards Wellington

Melling railway station is the terminal station on the single track Melling Line in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. The single platform station serves the suburb of Melling. The station is served by Metlink's electric multiple unit trains.

The Melling Line is expected to close for up to eighteen months from early 2025 to enable the RiverLink flood protection project to proceed. A new Melling station is to be built 250m south of the existing station, which will be preserved as a heritage building. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

History

The station used to be on the Hutt Valley Line section of the Wairarapa Line until 1 March 1954, when the Melling-Belmont section of the line on the western side of the Hutt Valley was closed and the through line to Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa rerouted through the centre of the valley. The truncated line to Melling was then electrified. The new station erected at the same time was about 100m closer to Wellington to avoid a level crossing at the Melling Link Road over the Hutt River.

In the 19th century, the line from Wellington to the Hutt was opened on 14 April 1874. The line past Melling to Silverstream was opened in December 1875.

The original Melling station opened on 26 May 1908. Melling was one of several stations and sidings opened in 1908 on the Hutt Valley section of line, along with Gosse and Co's Siding, Pitcaithly's railway station, the Belmont Quarry Co's Siding (not to be confused with the Belmont railway station), and the Silverstream Bridge railway station. ^[5]

End of the line

The station building today contains a ticket office and a coffee shop. ^[6] The building was closed without notice on 18 December 2013 for asbestos removal, ^[7] reopening on 18 February 2014.

Melling Station, 2007

Future

The Melling Station will be moved under the three 2018 NZTA options for replacing the Melling road bridge. ^[8] The proposed Melling Interchange also involves flood protection work, and will be completed by 2026 (in 2019 the project had been put "on hold"). ^{[9] [10]}

Incidents

Since the introduction of the Matangi EMUs in 2010, two have crashed into the stop block at the north end of the platform. In the first incident, on 15 April 2013, nine passengers and 2 crew were aboard the 7:50 am train that hit the stop block in a low-speed collision. ^[11] No serious injuries were reported and the line reopened the same day. ^[12]

A year later on 27 May 2014 the 8:09 am train crashed into and mounted the stop block. Ten passengers were aboard, with one receiving minor injuries and another hospitalised for shock. ^[13] Services resumed two days later. ^{[14] [15]}

Services

The following Metlink bus routes serve Melling Station are Routes 145 and 149.

Route 145 to Belmont via Queensgate

Route 149 to Tirohanga via Queensgate

(During peak hour on weekdays you can catch either Route 145 or 149 from Melling Station to Waterloo Station.)

References

1. "Melling Line temporary closure for Melling transport improvements". Metlinkl. 2023.
2. "Melling transport improvements". Waka Kotahi. 2023.
3. "Commuters react to bad news about Melling Station closure". The Post/Stuff. 2023.
4. "Station relocation options" (PDF). Waka Kotahi. 2023.
5. Hoy, D.G. Rails out of the Capital (NZRLS, 1970) pp. 13,63,80
6. EDWARDS, SIMON (24 May 2011). "Local has plans for coffee and tickets kiosk at the end of the line". Hutt News. Lower Hutt: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
7. "Asbestos found in train station". The Dominion Post. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
8. "Melling interchange designs for Hutt Valley choke point". Stuff (Fairfax). 7 May 2018.
9. "Resource Consent to be fasttracked for Melling Interchange in Lower Hutt". Stuff/Fairfax. 20 September 2019.
10. "Melling Interchange ……… part of $135-billion spend". Stuff/Fairfax. 29 January 2020.
11. EDWARDS, SIMON (15 April 2013). "Train hits barrier". Hutt News. Lower Hutt: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
12. "Melling Line reopened after train crashes". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
13. "Train crashes beyond end of the line". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
14. DONOGHUE, TIM; EASTON, PAUL (28 May 2014). "'I've got no brakes, brace yourselves!'". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
15. HUNT, TOM (29 May 2014). "Melling line back to normal today". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2014.

External links

• Passenger service timetables from Metlink and Tranz Metro.