There's good news for Wellington commuters with KiwiRail revealing train services across the city will return to their normal schedule on Thursday.
The capital has been dealing with major rail disruptions after a specialist rail track evaluation car broke down. This forced services to be drastically cut back and the speed limit to be restricted to 70km/h.
Transport Minister Michael Wood announced a rapid review into KiwiRail on Monday after a meeting with bosses.
KiwiRail put out a press release last week saying the reason for the disruptions was because of a mechanical issue.
But the Transport Minister revealed to AM on Tuesday the main reason for the disruption was because of staffing and rostering issues.
KiwiRail CEO Peter Reidy admitted to AM later on Tuesday the disruption was due to a combination of staffing, rostering and mechanical issues.
On Wednesday Reidy said the track evaluation car has now "completed its assessment of the KÄpiti Line" and the speed restrictions have been lifted.
"This will allow Metlink to return commuters' services across Wellington to their normal weekday timetable tomorrow morning," he said.
Reidy also apologised to Wellingtonians for the disruptions and said KiwiRail is making changes so "this situation is never repeated".
"I would like to reiterate thanks to my staff, whose hard work has seen what could have been weeks of disruption resolved in a few days.
"I'd also like to thank Metlink and Transdev Wellington for their professionalism and close collaboration. This situation has put their staff under significant pressure and I really appreciate how responsive they have been."
"Over the next few nights the Track Evaluation Car will be assessing the Hutt Valley/Wairarapa Line, the Johnsonville Line and the Melling Line," he said.
