Commuters react to bad news about Melling Station closure
Thursday, 24 August 2023
How am I going to get to work? That was the question commuters were asking on Wednesday, following news that their train station would close for up to 18 months.
The closure is part of the $700 million RiverLink project, which includes shifting the Melling Station south and building an interchange on State Highway 2.
The Post spoke to commuters on Wednesday at Melling, who expressed a wide range of concerns.
Western Hills commuters who rely on the Melling train to get to work in the capital noted that once construction starts on the interchange, there would be a significant increase in congestion.
That would make it harder to catch the bus or drive to stations on the Hutt Valley line.
Belmont resident Rohan Sampson described the train as a “lifeline“ that he relied on to get to work.
Alice Fisher drives to Melling from the Wairarapa daily to catch the train to Wellington. Her husband works in Lower Hutt and he drops her off at Melling.
It was the cheapest and most reliable way to commute and a much better option than catching the Wairarapa train, she said.
“I will be forced to catch the Wairarapa train, which is basically unreliable. It is a bit of a pain.”
A Tirohanga resident, who did not want to be identified, said there are no buses she can catch and closing the station would be a major inconvenience.
“If it closes for 18 months, I am in trouble.”
Kelson resident Jin Lee catches the train to Wellington three times a week. He prefers the train to driving because of the congestion and with free parking at Melling, he says it works well for him.
If he had to drive to Waterloo or Petone, it would cost more and be much less convenient. Keith Van Niekert predicted it would be a “nightmare” for Belmont residents and he was not looking forward to using Waterloo as an alternative.
Belmont resident Asha said she would drive to Waterloo or Petone and with more people forced to catch trains, her concern was finding a car park.
Morne Redgard had no idea the station would close and would probably drive to Petone.
“It is going to have a pretty big negative impact.”
Ely Galope was surprised to hear of the closure.
“That is too long, there should be another option for us commuters. They just can’t close the station.”
Long time commuter Dean, from Belmont, said he supports public transport but had largely given up catching the Melling train.
It was too unreliable. He was instead driving to Waterloo and was worried that the extra congestion would make that trip even more difficult during peak times.
Once the new line is operational, he hoped trains would run more frequently and there would be a greater emphasis on reliability.
Hutt based regional councillor Quentin Duthie is conducting a survey to gather data on the impact of closing the station.
A number of Western Hills respondents had noted they were already driving to Petone, as it enabled them to catch trains on the Hutt Valley line. With the closure of the Melling line, he said it was clear that the capacity of trains on the Hutt Valley line would have to increase.
It had also become clear that a significant number of Hutt based school children catch the train to Wellington.
Traffic engineers have predicted “chaos“ once construction on RiverLink begins and Duthine said it was important that as much planning as possible went into planning before construction began.
On Thursday, the regional council is discussing plans to mitigate the impact of the closure. Suggestions include increased bus services, free buses, more park and rides car parks, and longer trains on the Hutt Valley lines.