Up to 100 Wairarapa rail commuters travelled by bus yesterday after a Masterton-bound passenger train struck and killed a man near Lower Hutt.
A Wellington ambulance spokeswoman said paramedics treated a 68-year-old man after emergency services were called to the Wingate Station in Avalon at 1.23pm. The man died at the scene.
A KiwiRail spokeswoman said the 12.55pm commuter train from Wellington struck the man while en route to Masterton. The driver was a Masterton man.
Commuter Hennie Basson said about 60 passengers bound for Wairarapa were left waiting near Wingate for about 90 minutes before buses arrived. He was told the train had struck an elderly man.
Normal services were restored on the Hutt line just before 5pm.