This month kicks off work to improve safety at Masterton’s level crossings, following the announcement earlier this year that KiwiRail will be upgrading 25, and closing five level crossings along the stretch of network between Featherston and Masterton.
In Masterton that means upgrading five of the six level crossings and continuing discussions with Masterton District Council about plans for Judds Road.
KiwiRail Programme Director Andy Lyon says the upgrades and closures are a necessary part of preparing for the arrival of faster, and more frequent trains on the line from 2029.
“We are required under the Railways Act to remove risk so far as is ‘reasonably practicable’. With the arrival of the new trains, we carried out a risk assessment which highlighted a number of improvements needed to meet the Railways Act requirements.
“Regulations aside, level crossings are seriously dangerous places, and we are wholeheartedly committed to keeping people safe.
“When making decisions we take in the whole picture and start by looking at what we can do to remove the risk altogether. We consider what is practical and can then move to other ways to manage risk such as better pedestrian crossings, traffic islands in some instances, upgraded warning signals and barrier arms,” Andy Lyon says.
In Masterton KiwiRail begins upgrading the level crossings at Cornwall and Hillcrest roads next month and expects to be finished by the end of the year. Work on upgrading Ngaumutawa and Akura Roads begins early 2025, with Renell Street to follow around the middle of 2025.
Andy Lyon says the most complex crossing to manage is Judds Road.
“It is the most dangerous type of crossing of the lot, because of the risk of buses and long vehicles sitting over the tracks while waiting to join traffic on Ngaumutawa Road.
“The clean way to remove the risk is to close it, but we know there is a strong desire from the community to keep it open.
“While responsibility for roading sits with NZTA and Councils, we’ve been supporting Masterton District Council by commissioning roading designs that manage the risk to an acceptable level, and would therefore enable the crossing to stay open. This design involves traffic lights on Ngaumutawa Road that are connected to the railway signals, along with some road reconfiguration.
“Unfortunately, it comes at a high cost. Typically it would cost from $300,000 to upgrade a simple rural crossing and up to $1.3m for a high traffic crossing like SH2. Initial estimates for Judds Road as the design was progressing, were more than $2m. We have now had the work properly costed with input from contractors and it is expected to cost more than $4.8m.
“We have moved any work on the Judds Road crossing to the end of the construction programme to give time for funding decisions to be made.
“With the other crossings underway we know our work in the area these next few months is going to create some disruption. We really appreciate everyone’s patience and will do our best to keep jobs running to plan and people well informed,” Andy Lyon says.
The Wairarapa line upgrade work is part of Future Rail, a partnership between KiwiRail and Greater Wellington that will increase services, reduce travel times, and introduce new hybrid electric trains from 2029.