Subscribe to RSSAll Train Stations Under Review
Auckland Transport has begun a review of where Auckland train stations are located and whether they are best served where they are or have passed their use-by date.
‘There are a number of locations that are currently being looked at which may result in new stations, stations being removed or stations being relocated,” Auckland’s new transport body has said in a letter to the Orakei Local Board.
While it says it’s not considering the provision of new stations on the network “at this time,” it has embarked on “a very important next planning step.”
Auckland Transport’s letter says: “Over time circumstances and land uses have changed. There are therefore stations that perform very well and those that do not. Auckland Transport is therefore looking at the situation to determine whether the current station locations on the network are still valid, or if there are better opportunities.”
It says there will be no immediate changes or new stations as considerable financial and resource commitments are being invested in the rail electrification developmen,
There were also a number of other issues involved in creating new stations.
The track alongside the Purewa cemetery at St John's
Auckland Transport says that “at face value “it would be expected that the provision of new stations would result in increased patronage.
“However, providing additional stations on the network will result in simplified and greater-frequency timetables being significantly compromised and becoming unachievable. The reason for this is that average train speeds drop due to having to stop more often, generating longer dwell times at stations, together with time loss through decelerating towards and accelerating away from stations.
“This in turn would require further infrastructure improvements which may not be either practicable or affordable.”
The response from Auckland Transport follows discussion at the Orakei Local Board about the possibility of a new station in the vicinity of Selwyn College.
At an earlier meeting of the board, former Auckland City Council chairman (and now Orakei member) Ken Baguley said that with increased awareness of the use of trains to provide passenger transport services, the residents of St Heliers, Kohimarama, Mission Bay and St Johns miss out on the opportunity to access train services because there is no intermediate station on the South Eastern line between Meadowbank and Glen Innes.
The board considered there could be an opportunity to utilise land bordering the rail below St Johns Road at the St Heliers Road intersection to provide a rail station that could address this issue.
The board passed a motion requesting Auckland Transport to investigate the feasibility of an additional train station on the South Eastern line near Selwyn College with “kiss and ride” access from Kohimarama Road at that intersection of St Heliers Bay Road.
Auckland Transport replied, saying that while there are obviously some practical difficulties in providing a new station in the vicinity of Selwyn College, there was merit in the suggestion. Auckland Transport assured the board that the proposition would be looked at properly so that it could “get to a more definitive answer.”
A deputation was also made by Chris McGuirk and Roy Clements to the Orakei board last week also pressing for a small train station in the vicinity of St John’s and Selwyn College for college students.
Selwyn marked with a cross
They said this would ease the congestion on Kohimaramara Rd and therefore the safety of staff, students and the public.
It would also:
- Facilitate a faster movement of students from the Panmure /Glen Innes/ Mt Wellington areas who at present have to use two to three buses to arrive and leave from Selwyn
- Provide better transport for the community of St John’s
- Help the movement of sports athletes and fans for ASB Stadium events
- Allow the residents of Kohimaramara the option of tail via a small link road from Kohi Rd to the proposed new station.
“We believe with electrification, this proposal should be possible,” said the deputation adding that it should be given serious consideration in light of the new Mayor’s plan for better rail for Auckland.
Good to see residents thinking rail is the future! And while little stops are annoying in terms of the speed of trains (the speed of which will improve with electric trains), if Auckland is to achieve growth in public transport patronage figures, adding such a stop to this catchment area should help a little. Those using the train from there may also start using the trains throughout the network generally, as I know Onehunga residents have.
34 Comments
Its a shame this review couldn’t have been done before we started upgrading the network i.e I think we should have closed Baldwin Ave and Morningside and opened a new station at St Lukes Rd. Doing so would have helped to space out the stations a bit on the western line which are really close together and help to slow it down quite a bit.
As for this specific proposal, perhaps do it if at the same time we close Meadowbank down which has an extremely limited walk up catchment. Doing so would also space out the stops a bit giving better overall speed.
Agreed Matt, even a cursory glance at a map shows that this is a good idea, even before factoring the school. I advocated this some time ago over on Transportblog, but given that the funding squeeze is pushing the obviously desirable Parnell station further into the future, it is hard to see when this could occur.
But analysis and planning at least would be good to see. It could be a great hub for opening up the whole valley to walking and cycle paths too, and forging better non road connections across the whole area.
Ken Baguley?! The epithets concerning leopards and spots and pigs and flight spring to mind. But I for one am delighted to see a former roads, roads and more roads councillor actually proposing something positive in relation to PT. It’s also a pretty good idea and it would be good to see AT provide some leadership on the matter.
a new St Johns station could be a good replacement for meadowbank, much higher future patronage growth than Meadowbank. would integrate Remuera Road buses and could have a proper park and ride.
Also Glenora station should be looked at again.
there is a fair bit of medium density development very close, also would serve Papakura North and planned development there.
I hope they don’t revisit earlier proposal to close Takanini and shift to a proposed station near Southgate. That idea had appeared to have been dropped, but may raise its ugly head again!
Good to see the positive response to the Purewa idea. While developing the new station the Transport Committee should call in the Parks and Reserves people. The Purewa Valley contains some quite large areas of parkland and native reserve (Kepa Bush, Selwyn Park, the Purewa Cemetery, St John’s Bush) linked by several kilometres of weed-infested valley floor. Now is the time to make this one large park - linked to the Orakei Basin Walkway and the green corridors on the Glen Innes side. And served by the new Selwyn/St Johns train station.
Drury station? Must be long overdue. Would be well used by the local public, and will definitely be more efficient than driving to and back, into Papakura.
Why don’t they do a review if bus stops in Auckland whilst they’re at it.
@Roy Thanks for dropping by and best of luck with your Selwyn proposal. I hope you get a satisfactory result.
There is a historical aspect here. In the 1930s when the Eastern line was built and the present stations were put in there were no houses at all in what is now Kohimarama and the other surrounding suburbs, But as things stand now the Meadowbank station is totally unsuitable to meet the needs of the large population living north of the creek. It is only accessible to those living south of the estuary, and it is a cramped space in a location not easy to get to. As somebody who drives (at crawl speed) along Kohimarama and Kepa Roads to get to work I would love to have a station below Selwyn College to catch a train in to the CBD.
Close Meadowbank station??? I use it all the time and it is as busy as Orakei or Panmure for example. I thought the idea was to increase the use of the network, not close already established stations. I think the St Johns station is a great idea. With the new electric trains more stations are viable. Both would be great. And, while they are at it, how about a station next to the parnell baths? That would be usefull to Parnell and people wanting to get to the waterfront. Currently you have to go all the way to Britomart.
@railfan, I agree, Meadowbank is totally unsuitable for the needs of people north of the creek. But what about those south of the creek? I think the St Johns station would serve Kohi/Mission Bay etc and Meadowbank can continue to serve Meadowbank, Remuera and St Johns. How about a pedestrian bridge across the creek from the Mission Bay side with a car park for park and ride like the one at Orakei? That would work.
Hello! I was not advocating that Meadowbank Station should be closed. My comments were merely to point to its failure to serve the needs of the large population living north of the estuary, and to highlight the fact that in the 1930s very few people lived in what is now Kohimarama. If the timetable for the Eastern Line would be compromised by a new station below Selwyn College why couldn’t some trains stop at Meadowbank ,and not at a new Selwyn Station, while others (50%?) could make a stop at Selwyn while going straight through Meadowbank? This would keep the same times on the line in place and connect with the communities living north and south of the estuary who would use the rail service.
Fair enough. But with the new electric trains, I think they could all stop at both. I think a new station where they are proposing it is a great idea. Sooner rather than later.
The problem with adding new stations is it adds in time and slows the service down which in some cases could lead to more trains being needed to maintain the same frequency. One thing that has to be judged is will the extra patronage that is created by having an extra station more than make up for the lost patronage of a slower, less efficient and potentially less reliable service?
The Western line suffers immensely from having to many stations to close together and we should not be trying to replicate that as the train is not and should not be a bus service stopping every few hundred metres.
Also Jarrod, it is about as busy as Orakei but both stations are pretty low compared to other stations on the network with both only about half as busy as Panmure. Orakei has the potential to increase quite a bit once the development goes ahead there but there seems pretty limited potential for Meadowbank.
The needs of speed and completeness on the network will always have to be balanced. The urgent thing here is that the whole valley separated by the rail line needs developing with a network of paths and cycleways with track and water crossings as well as stations. Right down to the sea. This would make for a fantastic amenity for the whole area and open up connectivity and value for all of these neighbourhoods. Right now they are needlessly separated because of the Banks and Curtis’ vile highway plans for this area. This should be driven from the local board level- Go for some of ‘genius’ John Key’s cycleway dosh. Remember to leave space for more tracks though- we’re going to need them.
I agree about those stations on the Western line. They’re in the most bizzare places… ANd some of them seem to get about 2 passengers/day.
In my view Meadowbank should move up the hill. But only as part of development of the whole area so people currently using Meadowbank can easily and pleasantly get to either Selwyn or Orakei. 2km between stations is a good balance. All things being equal.
A Parnell Baths/waterfront stop isn’t too daft, especially for weekends and holidays?
I understand that adding stations slows things down, but as others have said this area is woefully served at present. There’s a line running through it, and no practical way to use it for most people given that the Meadowbank station is at the far end of Meadowbank Rd and well divorced from the primary roads through the area.
Another thing to remember is that this isn’t the only station that a local board has called for, one has been suggested at the site of the old Tamaki station only about 1km up the track from Panmure. We can’t just add stations in isolation from working out how it would impact the rest of the network. If they agreed to the Selwyn station then they would likely have to agree to Tamaki and by doing so you have just slowed down all passengers trips from south of Tamaki by about 3 minutes and even more if you had a station around Parnell baths.
I would advocate a station in the Kohi-St Johns area, however it would really have to be an interchange station to be much use. This means it would need new road links right down into the gully for bus access and perhaps park n ride. Done right this could service the whole Kohimarama, St Helliers, Glendowie, Meadowbank and St Johns area.
Closing Meadownbank would inconvenience the small local walk-up catchment, but this could be offset with timed bus connections to the new station (or Orakei) and new bus linkages across the suburb in conjunction with much improved pedestrain and cycle links across and along the reserve.
There should be a ped/cycleway from GI all the way to town, and there is no real reason one couldn’t be built soon.
As for the Parnell Baths stop, again this has a very limited catchment: only a few dozen homes and the baths themselves. A better location would be in the vicinity of the Strand overbridge. This would service a much wider catchment of homes and buisinesses, plus would be very useful for the arena.
Replacing Baldwin ave and Mornignside with one interchange station at St Lukes Rd gets my tick, although this will obviously have to wait until after the RWC as the travel plan relies heavily on western line travellers decanting at Morningside.
A lot of people park and ride from the Meadowbank station. If there was more parking space, I am sure more people would do this. I think both Meadowband and a new St Johns station are worthwhile. As is a cycle way from G.I to town. The new walkway across Orakei Basin is great. Extend that all the way to town. And, there is going to be a new station by the old Carlaw Park site in Parnell. That will be great, especially if you can get direct access to the domain from there.
Exactly, if most people park and ride at Meadownbank (which they must, there appears to be less than a hundred homes within walking distance) then relocating the station and providing a proper park and ride at St Johns won’t inconvenience many.
In fact it would probably mean a shorter trip for most people, and it avoids having the suburban back streets of Meadowbank clogged with car.
They definitely need to keep expanding the walkway, and ensure it is suitable for cyclists too.
And FYI, despite heavy lobbying from myself and others the Parnell station is going to be built further up the gully near the mainline steam workshops. Unfortunately the far cheaper and far superior location at Carlaw Park/Parnell Rise (which was the preferred choice of ARTA and the consultants involved) has been passed over for petty political reasons. Instead they are spending three times as much to build a station up a gully (this involves rebuilding all the track on the Parnell Bank), miles from any bus routes and workplaces, far away from the university and far away from the high density residential in the area.
for those parking and riding at Meadowbank, most would be at least as well served by a St Johns station.
Also there are very limited parking (20 proper spaces) available at Meadowbank and this frustrate a lot of residents.
Also the area around Meadowbank has little chance of redevelopment, little sapce for expansion of park and ride and unsuitable for bus interchange, therefore should be replaced by St Johns.
Once St Johns opens I expect many will shift and Meadowbank will become an outlier in terms of low patronage.
Only about 1000 people live within the 800m walkup catchment so very few people will be disadvantaged by the closure.
Tamaki should reopen only in conjunction with a major TOD in the area.
I just reread the proposal. If they do so there is access from Gowing Drive as well as Kohi road etc that would be perfect. Have to agree that it would serve a lot more people and make more sense than the existing Meadowbank station. And, it would be much easier for me to catch so that’s all good. The only downer is that the current Meadowbank station is in a really nice scenic spot……
You’d still get to ride through that scenic spot on the train though Jarrod, and hopefully soon we’d see a nice pedestrain/cycle link too!
The other thing about a proposed Selwyn station is that it might finally prompt Auckland Council into doing something about the major, albeit possibly scenic to some, pest plant problem along the Purewa embankment (mostly privet - Ligustrum ovalifolium; it’s almost as bad as the infestation of black wattle - Acacia mearnsi - at Waikumete - but that’s a westie problem). It’s one of the more noticeable features of the Overlander experience coming into Auckland: ‘Welcome to the city of weeds (car parks and motorways)!’.
Crawling traffic on Kepa Rd and full carparks at G.I. & Orakei stations have little to do with locals. It may be where the problem is, but it’s not where it starts. A Purewa Valley train station would mostly just add an inconvenient stop for commuters from communities further afield. Ensuring these people get safely and comfortably into town faster than a speeding Toyota should be our priority if we really want to fix Auckland’s congestion. Shuttle buses- e.g. Eastridge to Orakei station - could serve locals well and would be a much cheaper solution. The Eastern Bays are close to town and well served by bus, train, road, cycleway, boating channels and probably a couple of backyard heliports. What I would the to see built is a blindingly obviously needed Vector Arena station which would open as required. Adding too that $ for $ money spent on track extensions in the direction of Pakuranga or Botany would be money better spent than a Purewa station. Walkways and a mountainbike cycleway through this fantastic little bush remnant are all we should be considering - let’s not pave paradise and put in a park n ride.
Back to the future! The original station in the area was at Purewa (it’s visible on the 1940 aerial photos on the Auckland Transport website http://maps.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/aucklandcouncilviewer/ ), later replaced by Meadowbank.
Thanks for that Mike, it looks like a station just for the dead!…. Still too far west though, needs to be further up the hill….
The best way to avoid the need for more stations is to add lines. It’s what they do in other cities.
But we’re not doing that, yet.
[...] got it across the line. Let’s hope it inspires other communities like those wanting a stop at St John’s. As Benjamin Franklin said: “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” Related [...]
Concerning people from St Heliiers, Kohimarama, Mission Bay, St Johns, would it be viable to have stations for those people, who are able to catch a shuttle train which travels between Auckland and Glen Innes, so they can then catch normal service which has not taken up time stopping at shuttle stations, to travel on further.
There should be no concern about 1 extra stop on this line. A train can normally stop for about half a minute at the station and do all necessary embarking and disembarking. The fact is that the distance between Glen Innes and Meadowbank is too great - about double what it should be when you compare distances between other stations. The new station would be an asset.