Palmerston North Central railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Palmerston North Central railway station
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Railway station and yards in 1934
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| Location | The Square, Palmerston North New Zealand |
| Line(s) | North Island Main Trunk |
| Platforms | 4 |
| Tracks | 3 |
| Connections | Palmerston North–Gisborne Line and Foxton Branch |
| History | |
| Opened | 20 October 1876 |
| Closed | 21 October 1963 |
The Palmerston North Central railway station was an important train station in New Zealand. It was located in Palmerston North and served two main railway lines: the North Island Main Trunk and the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line.
The First Station
The very first train station in Palmerston North opened on 20 October 1876. Before this, from 1873, a tramway (like a small train line) had its end point at The Square in Palmerston North. When this tramway was upgraded to become part of the Foxton Branch railway line, the station officially opened.
A Growing City, A Busy Station
As more railway lines opened, the station became much busier. In 1891, a new line to Napier via Woodville started operating. This meant many more trains and passengers came through Palmerston North.
Because of all the extra traffic, the station was moved about 600 meters (30 chains) south in March 1891. Even with this move, the station was still a "bottleneck." This means it was a place where train traffic often got stuck or slowed down because the station wasn't big enough or efficient enough for all the trains passing through.
The End of an Era
The Palmerston North Central station was a bottleneck for a very long time on the main railway line. It wasn't until 21 October 1963 that a new, modern station replaced it. This new station, called the Palmerston North railway station, was built on a different route known as the Milson Deviation.
The old central station saw many important trains. For example, the first express trains that traveled all the way from Auckland to Wellington started on 14 February 1909. These long journeys took about 19 hours and 13 minutes, and they always stopped at Palmerston North.
