6 | Kiwirail: Waltham Mechanical Hub T T Karen Phelps Rail mechanical hub well on track The purpose-built facility will allow KiwiRail to consolidate its operations at Waltham. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT In a significant development for KiwiRail’s South Island operations, a state-of-the-art rail mechanical facility is taking shape at the Waltham yard in Christchurch. Positioned to become the primary maintenance hub for locomotives, passenger carriages, and wagons in the South Island, the Waltham Mechanical Hub is a critical investment for the future resilience and efficiency of KiwiRail’s operations, says Robert Gibbes, KiwiRail Executive General Manager Construction. The purpose-built facility will allow KiwiRail to consolidate its operations at Waltham, bringing together staff from existing sites in Addington, Middleton, and Waltham into a single, modern facility. Waltham will also support the arrival and integration of 47 new low-emissions locomotives slated to join the South Island fleet from 2024. The 9,200 square metre building will house 25 maintenance berths, including specialised equipment such as an underfloor wheel lathe, a wheelset drop table, and locomotive axle weigh systems. The project is made possible through funding from the Government’s Crown Infrastructure Partners Shovel-Ready Fund and Budget allocations. South Island construction firm Calder Stewart is the main construction partner for the Waltham Mechanical Hub project. HEB Construction is concurrently undertaking rail yard civil works to further enhance the overall infrastructure. The project has generated around 100 construction jobs, injecting vital funds back into the local and regional economy. Robert says that the construction timeline, which commenced with site demolition in late 2021, is progressing on schedule. The new maintenance building and western rail yard improvements are nearing completion. Work to complete the hub will continue into 2024 and includes completing eastern rail yard works and converting the existing passenger maintenance building into an inventory store. He says one of the main challenges involved with the project has been undertaking major construction work while maintaining live operations on part of the site. “Waltham Depot is where the Great Journey’s NZ scenic trains (TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific) are maintained and cleaned for service. “We have planned the project to ensure these essential maintenance services have not been disrupted by activities on site,” says Robert. The locomotive and passenger maintenance facilities are expected to be operational in early 2024 with the full hub anticipated to be completed by the end of that year. As part of the broader redevelopment at Waltham, a new automated train wash and service facility opened in 2021. This facility, run via a building management system and programmable logic controllers, ensures efficient servicing, maintenance, and cleaning of KiwiRail’s Scenic trains, including the TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific services. Robert emphasizes the benefits the Waltham Mechanical Hub brings to KiwiRail services for the South Island. He notes that the hub, alongside substantial government investments in facilities for domestic wagon assembly and project work at Dunedin’s Hillside Workshops, represents a major commitment to the revitalization of rail infrastructure in the region. “This project goes to the core resilience of the national rail network and the continued strength of our South Island operations.” residential / commercial foundations & floors excavations & siteworks decorative concrete, driveways & landscaping concrete pumping & placing Industrial • Commercial • Residential “Quality Solutions delivered on Time” INVERCARGILL QUEENSTOWN DUNEDIN CHRISTCHURCH
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