Featherston railway station

Featherston
Metlink regional rail
General information
Location	Harrison Street West, Featherston
Coordinates	41°6′47.74″S 175°19′48.85″E
Owned by	Tranz Metro
Line(s)	Wairarapa Line
Platforms	Single side
Tracks	1 mainline 1 loop(s) 1 Road Siding
Connections	Wairarapa Coachlines shuttle connecting with Martinborough
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	No
Other information
Station code	FEAT
Fare zone	11
History
Opened	16 October 1878
Closed	13 October 1986 (freight)
Rebuilt	1982
Electrified	No
Services
ONTRACK   Preceding station   Tranz Metro   Following station Template:Tranz Metro stations toward Template:Tranz Metro stations Template:Tranz Metro lines Template:Tranz Metro stations toward Template:Tranz Metro stations

Featherston railway station is a single-platform, urban railway station serving the town of Featherston in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The station lies on the Wairarapa Line, and is located between Harrison Street West and Harrison Street East. It is thirty five minutes journey time to Masterton, or fifty five minutes journey time to Wellington.

This station also serves a larger area of the South Wairarapa district, in particular the residents of Martinborough, as it is the closest station to several settlements outside of Featherston.

The station building houses a ticket office from which fares for the Wairarapa Connection service are sold. Goods have not been consigned from Featherston since 1986.

History

Formation work on the line reached Featherston on 17 August 1878, with platelaying completed the following month in September. Though the first train reached Featherston in late September, it was not until 16 October that the railway was opened for public use.

Featherston was initially a station of some importance, being the railhead for two years until the opening of the line through to Masterton. It was opened with a seven room station building, a 60-by-30-foot (18.3 m × 9.1 m) goods shed, a locomotive shed and watering facilities for the locomotives, but no coal supply until 1888. There were also refreshment rooms, but they, along with the locomotive depot, were removed in 1891. With the closure of the engine shed, all locomotives working the southern Wairarapa district – with the exception of the locomotive working the Greytown Branch – were based at Cross Creek. The original wooden station building was replaced with the present-day structure in 1982.

Today, the goods shed is gone, but the loading bank and two loops remain. An aggregate supplies company now occupies the area of the yard where the goods shed used to be.

As of 22 July 2008 all remaining sidings are in the process of being removed except the 1st road, work being completed by 8 August 2008.

Services

The only trains with scheduled stops at Featherston station are the passenger services of the Wairarapa Connection. There are five such services both ways Monday to Thursday, six services on Fridays and two services each way on Saturdays and Sundays.

There is a shuttle bus service operated by Wairarapa Coachlines to transport passengers between Martinborough and the Featherston railway station. These services are timed to meet the daily commuter trains, however there is currently (as at August 2013) no service on Sunday.

Previous Stop	Metlink Bus Services	Next Stop
Mobil Service Station towards Martinborough	200 Featherston - Masterton	Kia Ora Dairy towards Masterton
Terminus	205 Featherston - Martinborough	Mobil Service Station towards Martinborough

Gallery

• 
• 
  Southern entrance to the yard and Bell St. level crossing.
• 
  Aggregate supplies company yard occupying the former site of the goods shed.
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  Platform and car park.
• 
  Northern entrance to the yard and signals.
• 

References

• Cameron, Walter Norman (1976). A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. Wellington: New Zealand Railway And Locomotive Society. ISBN 0-908573-00-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |origmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Churchman, Geoffrey B. (2001) [1990]. The Railways Of New Zealand: A Journey Through History (2nd edition ed.). Wellington: Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |origmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, and |origdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• Passenger service timetables from Metlink and Tranz Metro.
• Wairarapa Coach Lines.