Wellington rail commuters faced less disruption on Tuesday evening than on Monday, when the fleet of new Matangi trains was abruptly pulled from service for safety checks.
In the end, eight trains needed repairs to a locking mechanism in the coupler connecting carriages.
Wellington Matangi trains have been pulled from service for an urgent inspection. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The Wellington Regional Council says the affected trains are going back in use over the next day or so as misaligned roll pins are replaced.
Buses are again being used on some routes this evening.
It says the German manufacturer of the mechanisms will now carry out specialised lab tests to find the cause of the fault.
All 48 trains in the Matangi fleet were taken out of service on Monday afternoon and checked after the manufacturer said there could be a failure in a locking mechanism in the coupler connecting carriages.
While most were cleared immediately, remedial work was ordered for eight found to have slightly misaligned locking pins.
Council rail assets manager Ian Gordon says the new trains are under warranty and compensation will be sought.
