Heritage Railway Project

The Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust aims to reinstate and operate a world-class heritage railway between Wellington and the Wairarapa. The Railway will be a unique tourist attraction for Wellington and New Zealand, and a major contributor to the regional economy.

Revision to walkway specification

After listening to submissions at GWRC's 23 November hearing on our proposal, we are writing to advise that the Trust has revised the walkway specification, increasing the walkway / cycleway width to 4.0m, and reducing the gradient of the contour route to 0-5%.

Syndicate content
Application to Greater Wellington withdrawn

After careful consideration of our position, the Trust has withdrawn its current application to Greater Wellington Regional Council for a concession to reinstate the former railway route from Maymorn to Summit.

The Trust now has a much clearer picture of the work to be done to rebuild the former railway route. We thank all parties who have submitted and particpated in this process - we will review the information carefully and explore changes that might be made to improve and enhance the heritage railway proposal.

Application to Greater Wellington withdrawn
14 February 2012
600,000 passenger journeys made on NZ rail heritage and tourist railways

New Zealand Transport Agency report in their latest Rail Safety Update that 628,229 passengers traveled on rail heritage and tourist trains during the 2010-2011 year. 50 heritage and tourist rail operators are licenced to operate heritage and tourist trains on either the National Rail System or on their own network operations. The figures exclude long-distance passenger trains operated by KiwiRail, metro operations at Auckland and Wellington, and the Wellington Cable Car, which add a further 21 million journeys each year.

600,000 passenger journeys made on NZ rail heritage and tourist railways
9 February 2012
Letter of support from Chris Cairns Foundation

The Trust is delighted to receive a letter of support from Chris Cairns, Chairman of the Chris Cairns Foundation. Chris recognises the tourism potential that project offers the Wellington region, with the addition of the heritage railway to the rail trail between Maymorn and Summit.

Letter of support from Chris Cairns Foundation
18 November 2011
New walkway

Specification

A Walkway specification: Maymorn to Summit, revised 2 December 2011 has been published, detailing standards for the route, and maps showing proposed location of the walkway for the entire route at a high level of detail.

The revised specification includes the following key parameters:

New walkway
13 November 2011
Track laying progress

A lot of progress has been made with track laying at Maymorn since the formation was excavated and prepared in late 2009. Work has occurred in two main areas: the yard throat connecting the mainline with the rail vehicle shed, and our future mainline heading northwards through the station yard.

Track laying progress
24 September 2011
Rail vehicle shed progress

Construction of the Trust’s Rail Vehicle Shed at Maymorn is at an advanced stage, with all wall cladding installed, both ends clad in, all roofing steel in position. We are also working on an extensive inspection pit facility within the shed. We are indebted to Rimutaka Trust for two recent grants that have enabled us to complete cladding of the main shed and make major progress with the inspection pit.

Rail vehicle shed progress
14 August 2011
Major ballast sponsorship received

On 8 and 9 March 2011 some 320 cubic metres of ballast was delivered to our Maymorn site. Holcim (New Zealand) Limited donated the ballast from their Kiwi Point Quarry, Wellington, and Pelorus Trust covered the cost of transport. The ballast will be used with mainline and loop track construction at the Trust’s Maymorn station. This is a valuable addition to previous deliveries of ballast in 2010, sponsored by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.

Major ballast sponsorship received
12 July 2011
Launch of the Rimutaka Incline Railway

Exactly 50 years since the last train ascended the Rimutaka Incline, the project to reinstate the former route as a heritage railway has been launched. At 11am, Saturday 29 October 2005, the first sod was turned by the Hon. Paul Swain, M.P. for Rimutaka, and Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy. A first length of track was laid past the ‘zero-peg’ in the Maymorn station yard, where the Trust plans to build a heritage station building, locomotive shed and future operational base for the railway.

Launch of the Rimutaka Incline Railway
31 December 2005