KiwiRail Unveils Waltham Maintenance Hub to Service 66 New Locomotives

The Waltham Maintenance Hub has officially opened in Christchurch. It gives KiwiRail a more modern facility for South Island maintenance work. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

According to KiwiRail, the facility will provide maintenance crews with a more modern environment. Their work covers locomotives, wagons and passenger carriages used across the South Island.

Waltham Maintenance Hub and South Island maintenance

The hub will allow work on 24 different assets at the same time. Also, it has electronic safety systems to protect staff from unplanned rail movements.

Separately, KiwiRail’s first new DM locomotives were displayed at the official opening of the hub last week.

The New Zealand Government has invested $533 million for 66 DM locomotives. Of these, 47 will replace the aging South Island locomotive fleet.

Meanwhile, four of the locomotives have entered service. The remaining units are to arrive in batches over the next two years.

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DM locomotives and KiwiRail operations

As reported by Rail Express, Minister for Rail Winston Peters said: “The Waltham hub and the DMs are a game changer for KiwiRail’s South Island operations.

“Waltham ensures our maintenance crews have the capability to move to the preventative asset management approach needed to deliver consistent reliability of service for our customers.

“More efficient maintenance, combined with more reliable locomotives will mean better and more timely services for our South Island customers. It is the crucial foundation that will allow us to get more of the island’s freight onto rail.”

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