Ava Railway Station

Ava Railway Station is a suburban railway station serving parts of Petone, Alicetown and Ava in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. The station is located on the Hutt Valley section of the Wairarapa Line, 12.5km north of Wellington, and is served by Tranz Metro on behalf of the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Trains stopping at Ava run to Wellington, Taita and Upper Hutt.The station has an island platform between double tracks with a pedestrian overbridge at each end of the platform, connecting the station with Wakefield Street and Alicetown to the north, and North Street and Petone to the south.HistoryThe station was one of the three new stations on the then Hutt Valley Branch, opened on 26 May 1927. From 1 March 1954 with the closing of the Melling to Haywards section, this route became the main route to Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa. Ava initially had sidings, which have been removed long ago (Hoy).On the night of 8 December 2014, a northbound "Matangi" FP/FT unit 4397 hit a downed traction pole at the station, and became entangled in the overhead lines. No passengers or crew were injured, but the unit suffered frontal damage from the impact with the pole. Electric train services between Taita and Petone were cancelled the following day while three traction poles and 150 metres of overhead line were repaired.