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Tranz Metro
Overview
Reporting marks:	TM, TNZ, TRH
Locale:	Between Wellington and Johnsonville, Paraparaumu, Upper Hutt, Melling, Masterton
Dates of operation:	1995—present
Headquarters:	Wellington

Tranz Metro is the suburban rail system in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is part of Toll NZ.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Ownership 1.2 Operations 2 Services 3 Motive power and rolling stock 3.1 Electric Multiple Units 3.2 Carriage services 4 Future 4.1 New Carriages for the Wairarapa Connection 4.2 New Electric Multiple Units 4.3 Western Corridor Transportation Study 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

In the 1980s the Auckland and Wellington suburban rail networks were part of the government-owned New Zealand Railways Corporation, operating under the brand name Cityline, then CityRail. In 1993 New Zealand Rail Limited was privatised and renamed Tranz Rail in 1995, with CityRail rebranded Tranz Metro. Tranz Metro was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tranz Rail (as a limited liability company) in 2003, and announced its intention to sell Tranz Metro. Stagecoach New Zealand and the Greater Wellington Regional Council announced their intention to bid for Tranz Metro; however both were barred by the Commerce Commission from doing so. In 2004 Toll Holdings of Australia bought a majority shareholding in Tranz Rail and renamed the company Toll NZ. Despite this renaming Tranz Metro's name did not change, and remained a subsidiary company of Toll.

In 1993 the Auckland Regional Council bought the Auckland CityRail fleet, contracting New Zealand Rail to run it 10 years. Tranz Rail did not bid for the contact when it expired in 2003, and these services are now operated by Veolia.

The Wellington services are operated under contract to Greater Wellington Regional Council. It subsidises the operation and any capital improvements to the stations and rolling stock. Typically 60% of that subsidy comes from central government through its land transport funding agency, Land Transport New Zealand, which approves such funding after careful analysis of the economics and net benefits, the remainder coming from Greater Wellington. Public consultation in 2005-2006 has resulted in some changes of emphasis; the September 2006 fare rises and section changes were stated to be helping pay for a major upgrade of trains and facilities over the next few years in conjunction with regional bus service improvements.

Tranz Metro operates five lines:-

Line	Colour on map	Between Wellington and	Length km	Travel time min (approx)
Johnsonville	Blue	Johnsonville	10.5	21
Paraparaumu	Green	Paraparaumu	48.3	56
Hutt Valley	Red	Upper Hutt	32.4	50
Melling	Orange	Melling	13.5	19
Wairarapa	Yellow	Masterton	91.0	90

• Johnsonville — a narrow and winding route through the hills of the northern suburbs of Wellington. Built by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway, part of the North Island Main Trunk until bypassed in 1937 by the Tawa Flat deviation.
• Paraparaumu — along the North Island Main Trunk through Porirua.
• Hutt Valley — along the Wairarapa Line through Waterloo in Lower Hutt to Upper Hutt, the edge of the Wellington urban area.
• Melling — along the Wairarapa Line to Petone, then along the Hutt Valley's western edge. Part of the Wairarapa line until diverted in 1955 along the eastern side of the valley.
• Wairarapa — diesel-hauled along the Wairarapa Line to Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa. Limited stop until Upper Hutt; marketed as the Wairarapa Connection.

Until 2001, Tranz Metro operated the Capital Connection service between Palmerston North and Wellington. On the sale of 50% of Tranz Scenic to directors of the West Coast Railway it was transferred to Tranz Scenic, where it remains.

All Tranz Metro services, except Wairarapa, are electrified at 1500 V DC overhead. Wellington is the only region in New Zealand to have electric train services.

Tranz Metro electric trains are electric multiple units, commonly called "units".

There are two types:

• 14 English Electric DM class units and 19 D class trailers, in two-car (Johnsonville) and three-car (Hutt Valley and Melling) sets;
• 44 Ganz-MAVAG EM class units and 44 ET class trailers, in two-car sets (not used on the Johnsonville Line).

The Wairarapa Line is not electrified beyond Upper Hutt, and diesel-electric locomotives haul the Wairarapa Connection carriage trains. DC class locomotives have been used for this service since the late 1980s and DBR locomotives less frequently, and occasionally since the 1990s, members of the DX class. Rolling stock consists of former Second Class 56 ft steel long-distance carriages, most of them dating back to the late 1930s and early 1940s, which were also used on electric ED class or EW class locomotive-hauled suburban services prior to the introduction of the Ganz MAVAG EMU fleet.

These cars seat 56 (passenger saloon only) or 47 (passenger saloon with luggage compartment at one end) passengers in two-person bench-type "Scarrett" seats.

Prior to the introduction of carriage trains, Wairarapa services had been operated by railcars since 1936, initially by the Wairarapa class and then 88 seaters from the mid-1950s.

In 2006 Toll Rail's Hillside Engineering won the contract from Greater Wellington Regional Council to rebuild several sets of former British Rail Mark 2 carriages purchased some years ago by Toll's predecessor, Tranz Rail, to provide replacement rolling stock. These trains will be introduced in the following two years and provide a major upgrade to the comfort, safety and reliability of the Wairarapa service.

On 22 September 2006 Greater Wellington announced ^[1] that it would begin the tender process for 29 new electric multiple units (reported as 58 "electric carriages"), to replace the DM/D class English Electric EMUs by the year 2010. On 9 February 2007 Land Transport New Zealand announced funding for a further 12 ^[2], bringing the total rolling stock order up to 70 carriages or 35 units.

Greater Wellington has undertaken a transportation study of the needs for the corridor from Wellington to its northern suburbs (including Johnsonville) and beyond. The initial submissions report [1] supports further investment in commuter rail transport, specifically in new rolling stock to replace the aging English Electric units. This investment is to be made within 'the first ten years' of the plan set out in the report.

The Western Corridor Transportation Study recommended extensive upgrades of the passenger rail service between Wellington and the Kapiti Coast, including a possible extension of electrification to a new station at Lindale or Waikanae, extending the double track from Mackays Crossing to Raumati, a new station at Raumati, and additional rolling stock so that service frequencies could be increased to 15 minutes at peak times. Greater Wellington is currently planning with Tranz Metro how to deliver this given the available funding from Land Transport New Zealand, its own rates and expected fare revenue.

• Public transport in Wellington
• List of Wellington railway stations
• Rail transport in New Zealand
• Toll Rail
• Veolia

• Tranz Metro
• Toll NZ

1. ^ Radio New Zealand, Source
2. ^ Scoop: Land Transport New Zealand - $40m boost for passenger rail in Wellington Friday, 9 February 2007 Source

Rail operators of New Zealand
	Toll Rail - Tranz Metro - Veolia - Taieri Gorge Railway - Tranz Rail