NZR DM Class - Refurbishment

Refurbishment

The introduction of the EM/ET class units in the early 1980s saw a large number of the class become redundant, namely all of the '36 and '42 stock. Ten two-car units of '46 stock were refurbished at the now closed East Town Railway Workshops in Wanganui between 1984 and 1986 for continued operation on the Johnsonville Branch where EMs did not have running rights due to their being overgauge and having insufficient braking capacity, and for peak-hour running on the Hutt Valley and Melling lines.

In the early 2000s, the remaining members of the class underwent a moderate refurbishment to extend their operational lives to 2012. The refurbishment largely involved a cosmetic upgrade of the exterior and interior of the cars, with new seating and a major mechanical overhaul. As part of this the cars received the new two-tone Tranz Metro blue livery with the exception of DM 556 and its trailer cars D 2130 and D 2411 which were repainted into the old Midland Red livery with silver roof and black running gear in 2005/6.

In February 2007, overcrowding of Wellington trains resulted in the recommendation by the Greater Wellington Regional Council to re-introduce two DM/D units, one former Tranz Metro units being used for spares and another from the Ferrymead Railway. These units entered service from October 2008. Six ex-British Rail carriages rebuilt at Hillside Workshops as the SE class and top-and-tailed by EO locomotives were also used.