Protesters calling for increased spending on passenger rail have blocked a Wellington highway for the third time this week.

The Restore Passenger Rail activists sat in front of traffic on SH2 at Melling in the Hutt Valley about 8.30am on Friday.

Live footage on the AM Show showed police moving them on to the grass verge within about ten minutes, with traffic again able to use the highway.

The group has staged two other protests this week, blocking traffic on SH1 near the Terrace Tunnel on Monday and Wednesday.

Six people were arrested and charged with wilful trespass and criminal nuisancefollowing the Wednesday protest action.

The group says passenger rail should be restored around the country, to relieve the cost of living and climate crises.

"We need to start acting with real urgency, by listening to figures like UN Secretary General António Guterres, who says delay means death." says Restore Passenger Rail spokesperson James Cockle.