A concept sketch of what a future Levin railway station might look like.
Horowhenua StarReplacement of Levin’s railway station is an option as new trains are to be introduced for the Manawatū line.
It was announced on Monday that 18 new five-car battery electric trains would replace the old Capital Connection trains plying between Palmerston North and Wellington. Co-funded by Horizons and Greater Wellington regional councils, and the government, they are scheduled to arrive in 2029 and be in full service by 2030.
Along with the train service, upgrades are planned for all the stations on the line, including Palmerston North, Shannon, Levin, and Ōtaki.
Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter said improvements to Levin station were being investigated.
“Options include replacing the station with a modern shelter that has better accessibility and car parking,” he said.
Metlink, the public transport provider for the Greater Wellington region, will build a new maintenance depot for the fleet in Masterton and upgrade stations on the Manawatū line, including strengthening and refurbishing the historic station building at Ōtaki.
The building is in poor condition and at only 20 percent of the Building Standard. It will have seismic strengthening along with building refurbishment.
The plan is to bring all the stations on the Manawatū line up to Metlink standard. This includes lighting, security, and accessibility improvements.
KiwiRail will upgrade the platforms at Shannon, Solway and Carterton to enable better platform-to-train access.
The contract to build the new trains has been awarded to international company Alstom. The trains will be the first in the Southern Hemisphere to be battery electric.
They are expected to provide a significantly higher level of comfort and reliability, and be more environmentally friendly, than the ageing Capital Connection trains.
A bonus for Horowhenua – and Ōtaki – is that the service will increase the number of return trips between Palmerston North and Wellington from one to four on weekdays and introduce two return trips on Saturdays and Sundays.
“This is wonderful news for our community,” says Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden. “It will offer more choice for commuters and others and make our region even more attractive as a place to work and play.
“Our region is growing fast, making frequent and reliable train connections with the capital city increasingly important.”
Along with scrapped trains is the Capital Connection name – the new service is to be known as Tūhono, meaning to connect or to unite.
Ian Carson is managing editor of ID Media.
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