Levin railway station

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.

Levin
Levin in 1913
General information
Location	Oxford Street, Levin
Coordinates	40.631236°S 175.277804°E / -40.631236; 175.277804
Elevation	37 m (121 ft)
Owned by	KiwiRail
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Distance	Wellington 90.32 km (56.12 mi)
Construction
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	2 August 1886
Rebuilt	1895, 1909
Previous names	Weraroa until 22 April 1894
Services
Preceding station KiwiRail Following station Shannon towards Palmerston North Capital Connection Ōtaki towards Wellington
Historic railways
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station Queen Street (Levin) Line open, station closed 1.65 km (1.03 mi)   North Island Main Trunk KiwiRail   Ōhau Line open, station closed 4.99 km (3.10 mi)

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.^[1][2]

Two former railway (staff) houses in Levin have Class II listing with Heritage New Zealand, 29 Keepa Street and 31 Keepa Street.

References

1. "Accidents: Man killed by train". Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand. 2023.
2. "Fall from Train: man runover and killed". Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand. 2023.

Further reading

• Cassells, Ken (1994). Uncommon Carrier: The History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, 1882–1908. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. 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)

External links

• Levin in the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (1908)