Palmerston North Railway Station
Encyclopedia
Palmerston North Railway Station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk serving the city of Palmerston North
in the Manawatu-Wanganui
region of New Zealand
. It is served by the Capital Connection long distance commuter train between Wellington and Palmerston North and the Overlander long distance train between Wellington and Auckland.
(PWD) was stopped in 1929 by Minister of Works Ethelbert Ransom
and restarted in 1938 by Bob Semple
but halted by the war. Finally resumed in 1957 under John McAlpine
, the deviation was opened to through goods trains in July 1959. On 21 October 1963 the new station and yards were opened, and all rail traffic removed from the main street and square of Palmerston North. The Awapuni station south of the main station on the old route was also closed..
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
in the Manawatu-Wanganui
Manawatu-Wanganui
Manawatu-Wanganui is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, around the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Horizons Regional Council.-Administration:...
region of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is served by the Capital Connection long distance commuter train between Wellington and Palmerston North and the Overlander long distance train between Wellington and Auckland.
History and the Milson Deviation
The station was opened on 20 October 1876. Traffic increased with the opening of the line to Napier via Woodville in 1891, and the station was moved 30 chains (603m) south in March 1891. But it was still a bottleneck, and remained the longest-persisting bottleneck on the Main Trunk until the 1960s. Changes were recommended by Hiley in 1914, a commission in 1916 and the Fay-Raven commission in 1924-25. Construction of the Milson Deviation to shift the line and station northwest and away from the centre of Palmerston North started in May 1926, but was delayed by the depression and World War II, and objections from the local business quarter. Work by the Public Works DepartmentNew Zealand Ministry of Works
The New Zealand Ministry of Works, formerly the Department of Public Works and sometimes referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988...
(PWD) was stopped in 1929 by Minister of Works Ethelbert Ransom
Ethelbert Ransom
Ethelbert Alfred Ransome was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, then its successor the United Party, and from 1935, the National Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1928 to 1935 in the United Government....
and restarted in 1938 by Bob Semple
Bob Semple
Robert "Bob" Semple was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand....
but halted by the war. Finally resumed in 1957 under John McAlpine
John McAlpine
Sir John Kenneth McAlpine, KCMG was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was the Member of Parliament for Selwyn from 1946 to 1966, when he retired....
, the deviation was opened to through goods trains in July 1959. On 21 October 1963 the new station and yards were opened, and all rail traffic removed from the main street and square of Palmerston North. The Awapuni station south of the main station on the old route was also closed..