<\/p>\n
\nA picture taken by a passenger on a K\u0101piti Line train that was stranded after an overhead cable broke.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
Passengers have been stranded on a train in Wellington this morning for over three hours after a downed overhead electric cable caused major disruption on the K\u0101piti Line.<\/p>\n
KiwiRail Wellington Metro GM Andy Lyon said a cable came down at 7.50am on the line near Wellington, requiring passenger services to be cancelled and bus replaced.<\/p>\n
“Power was lost to three trains causing them to stop on the line away from platforms,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Two were moved earlier this morning, so that people could disembark. A diesel locomotive is currently moving the third service, which had been sitting on the rail bridge over Hutt Road with 152 passengers onboard, into Wellington Station,” Lyon said.<\/p>\n
Lyon said KiwiRail was aware it was tough for the stranded passengers.<\/p>\n
“But we were dealing with high voltage electrical cables and we had to ensure safety.”<\/p>\n
Lyon said Wellington’s overhead infrastructure was not that old and they did not yet know what caused the wire to come down.<\/p>\n
“This incident will be fully investigated.”<\/p>\n
Metlink senior manager Paul Tawharu said passengers on the stranded service had been on board for just over three hours.<\/p>\n
“Passengers were given emergency toilet supplies to use while onboard the train. The use of these products is a last resort and onboard staff ensured passengers had support and privacy available to them,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Staff have ensured passengers were comfortable. Water was available, and we worked to get these passengers off the train as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n
One person on social media claimed that people were “starting to pee in plastic bags”.<\/p>\n
Another said that the crew had been amazing.<\/p>\n
“The power is off the train and we’re being tugged into wellie!!”<\/p>\n
Geoffrey Weal, a passenger aboard this morning’s stranded service, said it stopped about 8am and didn’t get going again until 11am.<\/p>\n
“We were coming out of the second tunnel, coming into Wellington, and that’s when the train started to slow down and stop,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We were told later on that what had happened was that the power cable running across the train, one of them had snapped and was lying on the train.”<\/p>\n
He understood that one of the other trains that had also lost power had been in one of the tunnels.<\/p>\n
Weal said passengers were told they could not get off the train for safety reasons, as the electricity was still live to allow the other trains to be moved.<\/p>\n
Tawharu said for other train users, buses were currently replacing trains between Wellington and Plimmerton, and passengers should expect delays until further notice.<\/p>\n
The Hutt Valley Line was also closed for approximately 30 minutes this morning to allow crews to reach the train and tow it back to Wellington Station.<\/p>\n
This morning a passenger on one of the K\u0101piti Line trains had reported that he was sitting on the train that had stopped for between 10 and 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
He said another train had stopped and pulled up behind him.<\/p>\n
A Metlink spokesperson had earlier said a train was stuck in a tunnel, but the train was moving again and repair crews were en route.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n