An electrical fault on a Wellington region rail line has caused disruption for hundreds commuters.
[image:2585:half:right]Overhead wiring between Petone and Kaiwharawhara was damaged at about 7am on Wednesday, halting trains on the Wairarapa and Hutt line for more than an hour, stranding about 1000 passengers.
One commuter at Waterloo Station, Richard Hulse, said that by 8am long queues of passengers had formed to wait for the buses that were to replace the train service.
Buses were being provided for passengers as far north as Wairarapa until the afternoon, and as needed for services into Wellington.
OnTrack says brackets supporting the line broke off an old wooden power pole near Petone, and got tangled the pantograph of a passing train.
The rail network manager says all the wooden poles in the region are now being replaced with steel poles. That work includes electrification up to Waikanae, north of Paraparaumu.
