| Rukuhia railway station | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Address: | Rukuhia |
| Coordinates: | -37.8636°N 175.2827°W |
| Line: | North Island Main Trunk |
| Distance: | Wellington 533.84km (331.71miles) |
| Opened: | 4 June 1878 |
| Closed: | 12 September 1971[1] |
| Electrified: | June 1988 |
| Elevation: | 55m (180feet) |
Rukuhia railway station was a flag station[2] on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, located in the settlement of Rukuhia.[3] [4] It was established during an extension of the railway line in the 1870s.[5] [6] The service started with two trains a day.[7]
Opening of the line from Hamilton to Ōhaupō was delayed by subsidence at Rukuhia.[8] A service had been planned from 25 February 1878[9] and the Governor General went over the line on 27 March 1878,[10] but opening was still postponed[11] as large quantities of gravel were poured into a hole.[12] The line finally opened on 4 June 1878.[13] The station was surrounded by peat fires in 1935.[14] A 1943 notice noted that owing to the danger of track subsidence, no engine must be allowed to remain stationary on the siding for any length of time.[15] Tests in 1981 found that the track deformed by about 12mm each time a train went over it, due to the peat swamp.[16]
A road to the station was formed in 1879, a siding in 1881, by 1882 it had a 5th class stationmaster's house and gatekeeper's house, by 1884 also a shelter shed, platform and a cart approach, 30feet by 20feet goods shed and, by 1896, it had cattle yards. A passing loop for 38 wagons was added in 1908 and sheep yards by 1911.
On 12 September 1971 Rukuhia closed to all traffic and only a passing loop remains.[17]