Levin railway station

{{short description|Railway station in New Zealand}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2015}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Levin

| type =

| image = Levin 1913.jpg

| image_caption = Levin in 1913

| address = Oxford Street, Levin, New Zealand

| coordinates = {{coord|-40.631236|175.277804|type:railwaystation_region:NZ|display=inline,title}}

| line = North Island Main Trunk

| other =

| structure =

| distance = Wellington {{convert|90.32|km|abbr=on}}

| platform =

| levels =

| tracks =

| parking = Yes

| bicycle =

| passengers =

| pass_year =

| pass_percent =

| pass_system =

| opened = 2 August 1886

| closed =

| rebuilt = 1895, 1909

| electrified =

| accessible =

| code =

| elevation = {{convert|37|m|abbr=on}}

| owned = KiwiRail

| zone =

| former = Weraroa until 22 April 1894

| services = {{Adjacent stations|system=KiwiRail|line=Capital Connection|left=Shannon|right=Otaki}}

| other_services_header = Historic railways

| other_services =

{{s-rail|title=Historical railways}}

{{rail line

|previous=Queen Street (Levin)
Line open,
station closed
{{convert|1.65|km|abbr=on}}

|next=Ōhau
Line open,
station closed
{{convert|4.99|km|abbr=on}}

|route=North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail}}

| mpassengers =

}}

Levin railway station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk serving Levin in the Horowhenua District of New Zealand. It is served by the Capital Connection long-distance commuter train between Wellington and Palmerston North. Prior to the service's cessation in 2012, it was also served by the Overlander long-distance train between Wellington and Auckland.

History

The station was opened by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR) in 1886 as an intermediate station on the Wellington-Manawatu Line. The first station was built in the northern part of Levin near Tyne Street, and was replaced in 1894–95 by a station near the centre of Levin. In 1909 this station was destroyed by fire, and replaced by a station 10 chains (200m) south. There was a nearby station in the southern part of Levin at Weraroa from c1886 to 1894.

In 1940 a 61y old married man Mr John Hepburn of Ashburton was killed when he slipped off a carriage platform 300 yards (275m) north of the station on 28 July; he was travelling to Palmerston North to visit his sons after attending his brother's funeral in Wellington.{{cite web|url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA19400730.2.68?end_date=15-08-1940&items_per_page=10&query=Hepburn&snippet=true&start_date=29-07-1940 |title=Accidents: Man killed by train |publisher= Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand |date= 2023}}{{cite web|url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19400729.2.49?end_date=15-08-1940&items_per_page=10&query=Hepburn&snippet=true&start_date=29-07-1940 |title= Fall from Train: man runover and killed |publisher= Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand |date= 2023}}

Two former railway (staff) houses in Levin have Class II listing with Heritage New Zealand, [http://www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=4081 29 Keepa Street] and [http://www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=4082 31 Keepa Street].

== References ==

Further reading

  • {{cite book|last1=Cassells|first1=Ken|title=Uncommon Carrier: The History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, 1882–1908|publisher=New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society|year=1994|isbn=0-908573-63-4}}
  • Hoy, Douglas, West of the Tararuas: An Illustrated History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company pp. 59, 60, 120 (Wellington, Southern Press, 1972)