Waipunga railway station

Italy

Waipunga railway station served a rural part of the steep sided Esk valley, Hawke's Bay, on the Napier-Gisborne section of the Palmerston North-Gisborne line, from 1925 to 1970. A shelter shed has been preserved, alongside a single track. After 1970 the line continued to be used by freight trains an

d excursions, but beyond Wairoa, the section to Gisborne was closed by slips in 2012 and mothballed. The Napier-Wairoa section reopened in 2019 following a $6.2 million investment from the Provincial Growth Fund, though, due to COVID-19, log trains were soon suspended, until November 2020. The line was again closed when Cyclone Gabrielle damaged more than 400 sites in February 2023. A decision has not yet (2025) been made on whether to restore or mothball it. The line north of the 191 km post is designated a construction site, requiring permission for access and trains north of Waipunga need a satellite phone. Kiwirail is protecting the line so that it can be reopened.

Listen to the audio guide for Waipunga railway station Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off