History
The Wairarapa Line reached the south bank of the Kaiwarra Stream in July 1873, and this section of line opened on 14 April 1874. Trains initially ran non-stop from Wellington, but on 20 April Kaiwarra opened as a stop.
Kaiwarra received its first building in late 1875. About 1879 the station received a class 6 passenger shelter costing £160. It did not have either crossing loops or sidings.
Early in the 20th century it was decided to duplicate the line between Wellington and Lower Hutt. Preparatory work was started in 1903 with construction commencing the following year, reaching Kaiwarra in 1909 and Wellington on 4 April 1911. A new station building designed by George Troup was erected in 1911.
In preparation for the construction of the new Wellington station in the mid-1930s and the closure of the old Thorndon and Lambton stations, new lines were laid through Kaiwarra and Kaiwarra signal box was dismantled.
The station was renamed from Kaiwarra to Kaiwharawhara from 9 February 1951 by a decision of the New Zealand Geographic Board
In 1968 there was a fifth track running along the western side of the station, as evidenced today by the extra overhead wiring still in place, used to access an oil depot (just south of the Kaiwharawhara Stream), the NZR Signals Depot and several warehouses. There were small waiting sheds on each platform. All has been removed.
Read more about this topic: Kaiwharawhara Railway Station
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