Bye to Bell St level crossing

After consulting with the community, council, and the local fire station, KiwiRail has now decided it will close the level crossing on Bell St in Featherston instead of Fox St.

“We’ve done all the work to assess the risk associated with each of the crossings and are confident this is the right balance to best maintain access and traffic flow while addressing the risk you inevitably get when you have trains, cars, and people all sharing the same space,” KiwiRail Wellington Metro Upgrade programme director Andy Lyon said.

“Of the 167 people who responded to the public survey in May, 131 said they would prefer to see the Fox St crossing upgraded and kept open.

“Most of the people selecting this option felt it was an important access point for the community, and ‘emergency services’ in particular.”

As part of consultations, Featherston Fire Station members had a separate meeting with KiwiRail, during which they expressed a clear preference for Bell St to be closed, given that the fire station is 50 metres to the west of the Fox St crossing, while the houses of many of the firefighters – as well as many of the jobs they respond to – lie to the east of the crossing.

“This is what we wanted, and it certainly will continue to allow us to have good response times,” Featherston fire chief Colin McKenna told the Times-Age.

“I can also understand the majority view from the public as people use it as a main entrance into the town and rail station.”

There were 62 respondents who would’ve preferred to see the Bell St level crossing upgraded, and another 10 who selected the “other” option.

The state-owned rail operator plans to introduce new hybrid trains with more frequent services on the Wairarapa Line in 2029, so it needs to close multiple level crossings in the region as part of a safety improvement plan [SIP].

“In New Zealand, we have around 3000 level crossings or one approximately every 1.5km on around 4000km of the track,” Lyson said.

“On the Wairarapa Line alone, there are 30 public level crossings on a 45km stretch of line,” Lyon said.

There are currently five level crossings in Featherston [on Bell, Fox, Fitzherbert, Revans, and Brandon streets], and in order to meet the requirements of the SIP, two need to be shut.

In addition to Bell St, the level crossing on Brandon St will be closed. Bell St to be closed, given that the fire station is 50 metres to the west of the Fox St crossing, while the houses of many of the firefighters – as well as many of the jobs they respond to – lie to the east of the crossing.

“This is what we wanted, and it certainly will continue to allow us to have good response times,” Featherston fire chief Colin McKenna told the Times-Age.

“I can also understand the majority view from the public as people use it as a main entrance into the town and rail station.”

There were 62 respondents who would’ve preferred to see the Bell St level crossing upgraded, and another 10 who selected the “other” option.

The state-owned rail operator plans to introduce new hybrid trains with more frequent services on the Wairarapa Line in 2029, so it needs to close multiple level crossings in the region as part of a safety improvement plan [SIP].

“In New Zealand, we have around 3000 level crossings or one approximately every 1.5km on around 4000km of the track,” Lyson said.

“On the Wairarapa Line alone, there are 30 public level crossings on a 45km stretch of line,” Lyon said.

There are currently five level crossings in Featherston [on Bell, Fox, Fitzherbert, Revans, and Brandon streets], and in order to meet the requirements of the SIP, two need to be shut.

In addition to Bell St, the level crossing on Brandon St will be closed.