As everyone heads back to work, more than 200 workers who spent their New Year upgrading Wellington's commuter train network will finally get a break.
It's been all hands on deck on Wellington's commuter train network as the KiwiRail-led project crammed months of work and maintenance into just 10 days.
From Boxing Day through to the New Year more than 200 workers across 15 different sites worked on various parts of the network.
Most of the network from Wellington to Wairarapa has been shut down over the holiday period.
This is work that is 20 years overdue, said David Gordon, KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer Capital Projects.
"It has to be done and this is the only time really that passenger numbers are low enough that we can bus them," said Gordon.
The job included replacing 16 kilometres of overhead cabling that would normally take up to 12 months.
As well as drilling the foundations for 80 new steel masts which will replace the original wooden masts which have been in the ground since the 1930s.
Gordan said the work they have been doing in the station entry, means nothing can get in or out.
The decision to shut down the train station was also a matter of safety.
"If it's unsafe then you don't run trains. It's as simple as that.
"So you've just got to get ahead of this and get it before it fails."
At the Trentham stop, the track was completely torn out to make way for a pedestrian underpass which has been covered back up until it can be completed later this year.
Those guys, men and women will go away have a decent break because they've certainly earned it," said Gordan.
