Faults plague Wellington rail services

A third fault on Wellington's rail network has further inconvenienced commuters, with a signal and points failure around 11am seeing trains replaced by buses between Plimmerton and Paraparaumu.

Earlier two separate rail faults and a car crash north of the capital delayed commuters.

Traffic was backed up from Churton Park to Porirua after a nose-to-tail crash on State Highway 1 at 7.15am. No one was injured and the scene was cleared by 8.50am.

A telecommunications fault near Trentham, in the Hutt Valley, caused delays of up to 40 minutes on the Hutt Valley line between 6.50am and 8.10am, Kiwirail spokesman Nigel Parry said.

The same fault also led to the cancellation of the 8.10am Plimmerton train, on the main trunk line north.

A mechanical fault led to the 7.27am and 8am Taita services in the Hutt Valley being cancelled.

Numerous faults in recent months have coincided with a drop in commuter numbers, but Mr Parry said he believed passengers were sticking with Kiwirail as they upgraded the Wellington network.

The upgrade included a new main line and an upgrade of the overhead line system which powering electric trains.

Passenger numbers had fallen over the seven months to February, but Mr Parry expected passenger numbers would increase once the upgrades were completed next year.