Passengers trapped for 3 hours as Wellington train line halted

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 Kāpiti Line.

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.

"Power was lost to three trains causing them to stop on the line away from platforms," he said.

"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.

Lyon said KiwiRail were aware it was tough for the stranded passengers.

"But we were dealing with high voltage electrical cables and we had to ensure safety."

Lyon said Wellington's overhead infrastructure was not that old and they did not yet know what caused the wire to come down.

"This incident will be fully investigated."

Metlink senior manager Paul Tawharu said passengers on the stranded service had been on board for just over three hours.

"Staff have ensured passengers were comfortable. Water was available, and we worked to get these passengers off the train as soon as possible."

One person on social media claimed that people were "starting to pee in plastic bags".

Another said that the crew had been amazing.

"The power is off the train and we're being tugged into wellie!!"

Tawharu said for other train users, buses were currently replacing trains between Wellington and Plimmerton, and passengers should expect delays until further notice.

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.

This morning a passenger on one of the Kāpiti Line trains had reported that he was sitting on the train that had stopped for between 10 and 15 minutes.

He said another train had stopped and pulled up behind him.

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.

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