Kapiti Gateway Motel

Waikanae Train Station officially opens Feburary 2011

KiwiRail completed its $90 million project to double track and electrify the railway line to Waikanae in February 2011.  Regular commuter services between Waikanae and Wellington are now in operation. 

Trains need to be stored overnight in Waikanae, and to stop them getting vandalised, the trains are stored behind fences.  Trees have been planted along the fence line, with wooden structures every 60 metres, which will be used for murals to give the area visual appeal.

Talked about for years and first approved in 2005, there is considerable enthusiasm for this new service and a lot of money was spent to provide it.  Previously commuters had to sit in a rattley old bus from Waikanae to Paraparaumu to board a train to Wellington City.  Or take a chance of being able to find a place to park the car in the already overcrowded car park beside Paraparaumu Station.

The opening of the Station and the extension of train services to Waikanae have been welcomed by businesses in Waikanae Village.  Visitors to Wellington can now easily day trip out to the village and enjoy all it has to offer – visit Mahara Art Gallery; enjoy the outdoor café scene; attending a movie at Shorline Cinema;  walk the Waikanae River track; or catch a bus down to Waikanae Beach for a fun day out.  

Accommodation providers say that visitors to Waikanae will stay longer as the now have the option of avoiding city driving/parking hassles, staying in Waikanae and catching the train to Wellington City for the day.