Pukekohe Electrification and Upgrades

Fitted out masts for electrification follow the line through Paerata

26 April 2023

The first wire starts in Paerata and runs to Pukekohe

26 April 2023

The first wire starts from this mast, viewed from the pedestrian crossing at Paerata

26 April 2023

Further north at Drury, masts have been installed over both the live Down Main and inactive Up Main

26 April 2023

Masts extending north from Drury. Visible electrification infrastructire is now in various stages from here all the way south to Pukekohe station limits

26 April 2023

At Drury, DL 9135 rolls past track work on the Up Main with train MP5 in tow

26 April 2023

Train MP5 slowly rolls past track machines with DL 9135 on the head

26 April 2023

The newly realigned Up and Down Mains at Drury, with the Up Main nearing completion

26 April 2023

On the other side of the bridge, the new Up Main has started receiving ballast

26 April 2023

At Sutton Road, the masts stop, with a gap between here and Papakura at present

26 April 2023

The upgraded Sutton Road level crossing with initial electrfication infrastructure installed southwards towards Drury

26 April 2023

At Pukekohe, the station building has been cut in half ready to be loaded onto a trailer to be shifted to Matangi

1 May 2023

Half of the Pukekohe station building rests on pallets while waiting for a truck to collect it

1 May 2023

DL 9688 leads train 138 past the half lifted station building. Soon, this will be an empty space free for platform upgrades

1 May 2023

With the first half now trucked to Matangi, the second half of the Pukekohe station building is now sitting on a trailer waiting for its turn to make the journey to the Waikato town

8 May 2023

New platforms start taking shape on the site of the old stabling yard, with the remaining half of the station building waiting for its journey. Removing the station building will allow the existing platforms to be upgraded and extended to handle 9 car trains

8 May 2023

The remaining section of the Pukekohe station building sitting next to the live Down main, shortly before removal

8 May 2023

A sign near the bus station shows a render of the planned station

8 May 2023

Now with a hole in the platform, Pukekohe's station building has now been fully removed from the site. It hasn't made it far however, being parked in a council car park just up the road

10 May 2023

The old and new platforms at Pukekohe. The station building being removed gives a better idea as to what the final station will look like

10 May 2023

A truck drops off conduit next to the new platform, with the missing Pukekohe station building formerly sitting behind the digger

10 May 2023

Creeping past the platform construction, DL 9106 leads train 140 through the work area on the one live track through Pukekohe

7 June 2023

With the station building now removed, the platform is being rebuilt for electrification. DL 9106 leads train 140 past the construction site

7 June 2023

DL 9106 passes the end of the existing platform with train 140 to Mission Bush

7 June 2023

The future site of the platform is clear here, as machinery for drilling the holes sits on the new platform

7 June 2023

Still a hive of activity, the new platform edging sits in place at Pukekohe station

7 June 2023

With the project now progressing incredibly quickly, contact wire has appeared between Pukekohe and Paerata. Seen here are the new overhead wires crossing Cape Hill Road near Pukekohe

11 June 2023

Looking the other way at Cape Hill Road, the rail overbridge has had a few new features added for the electrification project

11 June 2023

At Paerata, wires have been installed over the junction with the Mission Bush Branch, including wiring the crossovers

11 June 2023

Looking the other way, the wires make it as far as the Heights Road level crossing, but don't quite cross the road yet

11 June 2023

At Pukekohe, the original platform has almost completely disappeared for rebuilding

17 June 2023

The north end of the existing platform has been completely dug out, with a signal still in place now protecting nothing

17 June 2023

At the north end, the new platform has started to be filled in, while the old platform has been completely dug out for rebuilding

17 June 2023

Just south of the footbridge, a concrete pour has started on the new platform. Behind th concrete truck, a digger carries on digging out the existing platform

17 June 2023

The diger has now stopped work while DL 9095 slowly rolls past with train MP4

17 June 2023

DL 9095 crawls through Pukekohe station with train MP4, immediately next to the remains of the existing platform

17 June 2023

At Pukekohe, while the original platform is still largely missing, some structures above the platform have started to appear

8 July 2023

Looking south along the rail corridor, the edge of the platform to be built can clearly be made out

8 July 2023

On the western platform, a new structure for the lift has started to be installed, to be connected to the existing bridge

8 July 2023

North of Pukekohe, DL 9665 leads an empty train MP7S through Paerata, underneath newly installed electrification infrastructure

8 July 2023

DL 9665 is about to pass underneath the end of wires as it leads train MP7S across Crown Road

8 July 2023

Heading the other way, DL 9262 and DL 9227 lead train 228 north towards Auckland. Paerata to Drury is currently operating as a single track during construction work

8 July 2023

DL 9262 and DL 9227 cross Crown Road running opposing main through Paerata

8 July 2023

Further north at Drury, electrification masts have been installed but don't yet have wires. Train 228 rolls through Drury and underneath State Highway 1

8 July 2023

At Drury south of Waihoehoe Road, the tracks have been realigned towards the east, away from the shopping centre. This is the planned site of the Drury station, so it's likely the work was done to fit the platforms

8 July 2023

The new S bend at the southern end of the realignment, before the line passes under State Highway 1

8 July 2023

The Drury motorway interchange is being rebuilt above the line, in part to enable wires to pass underneath. The existing bridge is too low for wires to pass underneath so the motorway work was required for electrification to proceed

8 July 2023

At Pukekohe, the extension to the existing platform is now more defined, and the formation for the track flattened out

28 July 2023