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}} The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Tranz Metro under contract from the Greater Wellington Regional Council. It is a diesel-hauled carriage service, introduced by the New Zealand Railways Department in 1964 after passenger demand between Masterton to Wellington exceeded the capacity of the diesel railcars then used. The service operates five times daily in each direction Monday to Friday, three peak and two off-peak, with an additional service each way on Friday nights and two services each way on weekends and public holidays. It stops at all stations from Masterton to Upper Hutt, then runs express along the Hutt Valley Line to Wellington, stopping only at Waterloo and Petone stations. While all other regional passenger trains in New Zealand have been withdrawn, the Wairarapa Connection service continues due to the Wairarapa's proximity to Wellington and the advantage of the 8.8 km Rimutaka Tunnel through the Rimutaka Ranges compared to the narrow and winding Rimutaka Hill Road over them. In the year to 30 June 2013, the service's ridership was 705,000, down slightly from 719,000 in the 2011/12 year.〔 ==History== Before the Wairarapa Connection, 88 seater railcars were used between Masterton and Wellington. They had replaced the steam-hauled mixed trains and Wairarapa class railcars in 1955, when the Rimutaka Tunnel opened and the line became the first fully dieselised line in New Zealand. The Wairarapa Mail carriage train ran between Wellington and Woodville until 1948. In 1964, the demand between Masterton and Wellington was exceeding the capacity of the 88-seater railcars, with a capacity of 176 with two railcars. The solution was to introduce a diesel-hauled carriage service. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wairarapa Connection」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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