CJ Wellington Metropolitan Region

The Government of New England and Transport for Wellington (TfW) has officially updated the metropolitan region's commuter railway map for 2020.

Swansea line extended to Ramsgate again
Between 1930 and 1992, many people in the Wellington metropolitan area caught train to Ramsgate to swim and sunbath at Ramsgate Beach. It was a very popular beach because Ramsgate train station was right next to the beach. However it all changed in 1992 when a train derailed into the sea and killed all passengers onboard the train.

After the inquiry, it was found that the train tracks between Swansea and Ramsgate stations were built in 1930 and has never been properly maintained. It was officially accepted that chronic rust and structural issues with the train tracks near Leith station caused train to derail into the sea. As a result, Leith and Ramsgate train stations both were permanently closed down in January 1993. The Ramsgate line terminated at Swansea instead.

After the accident, the Government of New England decided not to upgrade the train tracks between Swansea and Ramsgate because Ramsgate is already serviced by trams from Stockport.

As part of the regional railway electrification efforts, the Swansea line was electrified in 2018. The Government of New England decided to upgrade the tracks between Swansea and Ramsgate as well and this project was completed in October 2019. From January 2020, trains will now terminate at Ramsgate station for the first time since the accident in 1992. The line has also been renamed back to Ramsgate line once again.

Lawrence line included for the first time since 1979
In 1972, the Government of New England decided to reduce the number of services on the Lawrence line due to declining patronage numbers and ballooning costs to run the service. The Government continued to reduce the services until it was finally ceased operations and abandoned in 1979 and diesel buses were provided as a replacement.

The Government of New England decided to re-open the Lawrence train line again due to overcrowded bus services and chronic traffic congestion on the Hills Motorway between Elwood and Stirling. The Government also forecasted that the population of Lawrence will surpass 100,000 by 2025 and bus services will not be able to cope the demand (in the 1970s, the population of Lawrence was under 30,000).

The Lawrence line will stop at Lawrence East, Lawrence, Lawrence West, Bannockburn, Stirling, Elwood, Bonbeach, Newmarket and Wellington Central. The trains will not stop at Home Hill (formerly North Wellington). In the updated 2020 map, the Lawrence line is coloured gold.

The new underground metropolitan line officially named as Northcote
When the Government of New England and Transport for Wellington (TfW) first proposed a new underground train line in 2018, the line was simply called the "Underground Rail". In 2019, after the formal approval of the Underground Rail project by the Government of New England, Transport for Wellington (TfW) organised 29 community consultation events and a public vote to decide on a name for the new line.

It was either "Northcote" or "Flemington" line. The Government of New England has decided that the name "Northcote" is more suitable compared to "Flemington" because the whole purpose of this underground rail line is to connect Stockport and Croydon via Northcote.

In the updated 2020 map, the new underground Northcote line is coloured black. The stations on the Northcote line are Springburn, Stockport High Street, Clapham, Northcote, Dagenham, Croydon, Glebe, Flemington, Kings Cross, Wellington Central, and Embankment. During the morning and evening peak hours, the line will continue to Brighton after Embankment- sharing the same tracks with the Parnell line.

Parafields/Mawson Lakes lines
The Government of New England has confirmed that, in 2021, both Parafields and Mawson Lakes lines will be merged into one single line to reduce unnecessary wastage, dead running and duplication-related issues. From 2021 onwards, the merged line will known as the Kallingalup line because the existing Parafields train station will be demolished and relocated 500 metres north closer to Kallingalup. These changes will be included in the 2021 map revision.

Airport line
Due to opening of the Northcote line, the Airport line will no longer run to Brighton via Wellington Central from Wellington Airport. From 2020 and onwards, the Airport line services will only stop at Wellington Airport, Newmarket, and Wellington Central stations. The entire journey on the Airport line will take 14 minutes compared to 31 minutes last year.