A Dunedin man has been arrested for the second time in a week for his involvement in protests on Wellington motorways.
Passenger rail protesters sat on southbound lanes of the Transmission Gully motorway at Judgeford, Porirua, bringing rush hour traffic to a standstill.
Restore Passenger Rail spokeswoman Rosemary Penwarden, of Dunedin, said the protest went as expected and got the attention of a lot of people.
Dunedin activist James Cockle was one of those who had been arrested for sitting in the road, and was in court in Porirua.
He was arrested for gluing his hand to another Wellington motorway last Wednesday.
Some motorists had become angry and shouted abuse at today's protesters but Ms Penwarden said the group did not blame them for getting angry.
Their actions had been disruptive and they hated having to do what they did but had decided to put their bodies on the line, she said.
The group considers passenger rail one simple solution to the climate crisis.
People involved in the protest were a cross section of society, ranging in age from 22-81 years-old, she said.
Some had mobility issues and one was a great grandmother.
There was a student and a father, who had come to New Zealand a refugee from Hungary, and his son.
Some grandparents who had about 30 grandchildren between them.
"That's their motivation," Ms Penwarden said.
Police initially moved the protesters to one side of the motorway and handcuffed them to a barrier to allow traffic to use one lane, before fully reopening the motorway about 9.15am.
Police said up to 20 people were understood to be involved in the protest on the southbound lane of the motorway at Judgeford, Porirua.
The group has conducted a number of similar protests on Wellington roads over the past week, claiming to want passenger rail services restored to year-2000 levels.
Yesterday Wellington's Mount Victoria tunnel was closed when protesters abseiled down one side and hung a sign above traffic lanes.
Last week protest action took place on motorways in Lower Hutt and central Wellington, blocking lanes near the Terrace Tunnel.
- Additional reporting RNZ
