Canterbury Railway Society Inc

News

Ferrymead Railway Electrification To Be Extended

1/10/99

Several years ago it was decided that the 400 metres of electrified track on the Branch between Moorhouse signalbox and the Tranz Rail main-line turnout should be extended all the way to Ferrymead and into Moorhouse station yard. The work for this has now been started with the poles going in for the first stage of this project recently. When this work is completed it will add another facet to train operation at Ferrymead, allowing the electric locomotives to be used on normal passenger services, though this must be balanced against the visual intrusion caused by the overhead and the additional safety issues raised. Ferrymead is the site of the only preservation electrified railway in the whole of New Zealand, and with the closure of the Otira section on Tranz Rail, the only electrified railway in the South Island.