By October 2011, former Hutt Valley sets DM 27 "Robin", DM 216 "Phoenix" and the now shortened DM 556 were pressed into service due to a lack of available Johnsonville DM/D sets. Following the failure of DM 216 in December, DM 556 was pressed into service with one trailer removed and coupled to the uphill end of DM 27 due to the loss of the second driving cab in DM 556. Three further sets comprising DM 182, DM 441 and DM 510 were later repaired to maintain service with buses supplementing trains at peak times.