While many Kiwis spent Boxing Day shopping up a storm, it's unlikely anyone is going to spend more than KiwiRail over the Christmas period.
It's pumping $40 million into an 11-day working blitz to upgrade infrastructure in Wellington, some of which has been around since the 1930s.
Wellington's train station on Boxing Day was eerily quiet and empty for a Thursday, but a few hundred metres up the track, it was the busiest it's been in years.
"We're flat out for the two weeks of Christmas when everybody else is at the beach," chief operating officer Todd Moyle told Newshub.
Drilling five metres into the ground; making way for new masts for overhead power lines and replacing some which have been around since 1938.
"We're replacing 70 poles in the Wellington station area," Moyle said. "The only time we get to do that is when there's no trains running."
The blitz has shut down most of Wellington's commuter train network, forcing commuters on to bus services. The work will include replacing more than 12 kilometres of overhead
"You're seeing greater patronage more people wanting to use the trains in Wellington now so it's supercritical that the network is able to sustain that increased volume," Moyle said.
More than 200 workers from throughout the country will spend the next 11 days upgrading infrastructure to improve a network that services more than 14 million trips per year.
Work is being undertaken on 15 different sites including the Trentham stop where an underpass is being built before the track is extended.
KiwiRail estimates it'll spend up to $40 million for the upgrades over the 11 days.
"While it seems like a large amount of money at the immediate time, you're investing it you get that return over an 80 to 100 year period," Moyle said.
