Woodside railway station, Wellington Region

Woodside railway station is a rural railway station located in the Wairarapa, 5 km west of and serving Greytown, New Zealand. The station is located on the Wairarapa Line, 65.1 km (40.5 mi) north of Wellington and 25.9 km (16.1 mi) south of Masterton. The Wairarapa Connection serves the station several times daily with services to Wellington and Masterton.

Woodside
Metlink regional rail
Woodside Station in December 2007.
General information
LocationWallace Street, Woodside, New Zealand
Coordinates41°4′2.61″S 175°24′7.05″E / 41.0673917°S 175.4019583°E / -41.0673917; 175.4019583
Elevation91 metres (299 ft)
Owned byGreater Wellington Regional Council
Line(s)Wairarapa Line
Distance65.12 kilometres (40.46 mi) from Wellington
PlatformsSingle side (originally Island)
Tracks1 main line
Train operatorsTranz Metro
Bus routes1
Bus operatorsTranzit Coachlines
Connections 204  Woodside Station - Greytown
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesNo
Architectural styleVogel era Special Class
Other information
Station codeWOOD
Fare zone12[1]
History
Opened14 May 1880
ElectrifiedNo
Previous namesWoodside Junction
Passengers
2011>168 passengers/day[2]
Services
Preceding station Transdev Wellington Following station
Matarawa
towards Masterton
Wairarapa Connection Featherston
towards Wellington
Notes
Previous Station: Fernside Station
Next Station (Wairarapa Line): Matarawa Station
Next Station (Greytown Branch): Greytown Station

The station building has in recent years been restored by the Woodside Station Preservation Society.

History

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The original survey for the Wairarapa Line, completed in 1876, considered two routes for the line between Featherston and Masterton: the Central route and the Western route. Despite the protestations of the residents of Greytown, the Western route was chosen due to concerns about the possibility of flooding north of Greytown, which meant that the line bypassed Greytown and passed through Woodside instead.

Woodside opened on 14 May 1880 with the extension of the line from Featherston. Until the line from Woodside to Masterton was completed and opened in November of that year, Woodside was the northern terminus of the Wairarapa Line and was operated by the Public Works Department, initially with two mixed trains between Greytown and Wellington each day.

The amenities at Woodside initially consisted of a station building and stationmaster's house. The station building was on an island platform between the main line and the Greytown Branch, with the junction at the southern end of the platform. There was road access from north of the platform. The branch (eastern) side had two loops, with capacities of 18 and 11 wagons, while on the main line (western) side there were two loops with capacities of 44 and 35 wagons.

Some years after the closure of the Greytown Branch in 1953 the main line yard was removed, and the station building relocated to a new platform on the western side of the main line. A new crossing loop was installed, and the branch sidings reconfigured. In 1954 the Greytown station building was relocated to Woodside and modified to serve as a goods shed. It is now disused and the loop and sidings have been removed.

With the opening of the line to Masterton and the reversion of the line to Greytown to branch-line status, Woodside became known as Woodside Junction until the closure of the Greytown Branch in 1953: the platform name board read "Woodside Junction. Change here for Greytown."

A Wairarapa train was struck by a tree branch on 17 September 2019 near the Waiohine Bridge, but the driver continued and stopped at Woodside Station.[3]

Services

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There are five Metlink Wairarapa Connection trains both ways on Monday to Thursday, six on Friday and two each way on Saturday and Sunday.

A shuttle bus service to Greytown, Route 204, connects with trains. It is operated by Tranzit Coachlines for Metlink, and operates Monday to Saturday (it does not operate on Sundays or public holidays).

Previous Stop Metlink Bus Services Next Stop
Terminus 204
Woodside Station - Greytown
Woodside Road
towards Greytown
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Preceded by
Terminus
Stations on the Greytown Branch Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ Metlink. "Text description of fare zone boundaries". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Results of survey of Wairarapa train passengers" (PDF). Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Wairarapa commuter trains stopped by tree brought down by high winds". Stuff (Fairfax) New Zealand. 17 September 2019.
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