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Western Line (Auckland)

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The Western Line in Auckland, New Zealand, is the name given to suburban rail services that operate between Waitematā and Swanson via Newmarket.

Western Line
 WEST 
Western Line train at Parnell
Overview
OwnerKiwiRail (tracks and platforms), Auckland Transport (trains and buildings)
LocaleAuckland
Termini
Connecting linesEastern Line
Onehunga Line
Southern Line
Stations18
Service
TypeCommuter Rail
SystemAT Trains
Operator(s)Auckland One Rail
Rolling stockAM class
Technical
Track length28 km (17 mi)
Number of tracks2
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead
Route map

Legend
0.0
 Waitematā (Auckland)
Eastern Line
The Strand Station
Quay Park junction
Ronayne Street
State Highway 16
Parnell Rise
Parnell
343m Parnell Tunnel
Cowie Street
Newmarket Junction
3.7
 Newmarket
Southern Line, Onehunga Line
Broadway
Davis Crescent
Park Road
Grafton
Khyber Pass Road
Boston Road
Southern motorway (State Highway 1)
Normanby Road
Mount Eden Road
Maungawhau
Porters Avenue
Dominion Road
George Street
Sandringham Road
Kingsland
Morningside Drive
Morningside
New North Road
St Lukes Road
Asquith Avenue
Rossgrove Terrace
Baldwin Avenue
Carrington Road
Mount Albert
Woodward Road
Blockhouse Bay Road
Avondale
St Jude Street
Chalmers Street
St Georges Road
Portage Road
Hetana Street
New Lynn
Titirangi Road
Fruitvale Road
West Coast Road
Glen Eden
Seymour Road
Sunnyvale
Bruce McLaren Road
Henderson
Henderson Valley Road
Sturges Road
Sturges Road
Metcalfe Road
Rānui
North Candia Road
Swanson (end of suburban services)
Christian Road
274m Waitakere Tunnel
Waitakere Road
Waitakere
Taupaki Road
Waitakere Road
Huapai
Main Road (State Highway 16)
Waimauku
Waimauku Station Road
Mill Road
Helensville
North Auckland Line
This diagram:
Map
Map

Routing

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From Waitematā to Newmarket, Western Line services travel on the Newmarket Line, then follow the North Auckland Line to Swanson, the current northernmost station on the network.

History

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In 1877, New Zealand Railways called for tenders for the construction of a railway between Newmarket and Waikomiti (the former name of Glen Eden).[1] Larkins and O'Brien were contracted to construct the rail line and a tunnel cutting through Scroggy Hill (located at modern-day Pleasant Road, West Coast Road and Rua Road).[1] Locals in the area opposed the construction of a tunnel, leading to the railway being constructed over-top of the hill.[1]

The Western Line to Glen Eden was completed in February 1880,[1] and the Western Line stations between Newmarket and Glen Eden were opened on 27 March 1880: Mount Eden, Kingsland, Mount Albert, Avondale, New Lynn and Glen Eden.[2] The line was extended to Henderson over the course of the year, and the Henderson railway station was opened on 21 December 1880.[1]

In 1881, the line was extended to Helensville.[2] This caused the closure of the Riverhead railway station and the Kumeu–Riverhead Section, a railway that was built in 1875 that connected Huapai/Kumeū to the port at Riverhead.[2][3]

Scroggy Hill between Glen Eden and New Lynn posed a major issue for trains, as the gradient was too steep for many to traverse.[1] Occasionally trains were forced to stop near the top of the hill and leave half their carriages behind; continuing on to Glen Eden and returning later for the second set of carriages.[1] A ravine was cut through the hill during World War II.[1]

By the early 20th century, an intensive suburban service ran between Auckland city centre and Henderson, with some mixed trains progressing to Helensville via Waitakere. When the mixed trains were withdrawn, Helensville became New Zealand's northernmost passenger terminus with a daily service to Auckland. However, in February 1980, the Minister of Railways, Colin McLachlan, announced it would be cancelled due to a lack of rolling stock.[4] On 18 August 1980, a new timetable was implemented – it eliminated the Helensville service, with Waitakere becoming the new terminus. At the same time, the stations at Westbrook, Croydon Road, and St George's Street were closed to suburban traffic on a trial basis[5][6] that was later made permanent.

ADK and ADL classes of diesel multiple units (DMUs) were purchased in 1993 to replace locomotive-hauled carriage trains. In 1997, as the DMUs stimulated increased patronage, work was undertaken by Auckland Regional Council to extend platforms so that longer trains could be accommodated.[7] To enable more frequent services, construction began on 9 April 2004 to double track the line between Mount Eden and Morningside.[8] When this new track entered service, a new timetable was introduced on 14 February 2005 with more frequent trains between Britomart and Waitakere, particularly during peak periods. This timetable also introduced short run services between Britomart and New Lynn.[9] This was followed by the opening of a new double platform Kingsland station on 21 May 2005, replacing the old single platform station.[10] Further patronage growth meant that on 25 October 2005, another new timetable was implemented and it featured the re-introduction of features that had been absent for many years, including express services from Waitakere to Britomart on weekdays and Sunday trains between Britomart and New Lynn. The weekday service frequency to Swanson was cut to 37 minutes, but this meant trains to Waitakere ran only every 74 minutes.[11]

Helensville trial

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Beyond Waitakere, services between Auckland and Helensville resumed in July 2008 on a trial basis, with a minimum of forty passengers daily required for the train to be permanently reinstated,[12] but the service was terminated again in December 2009, because an average of only 43 passengers per day used the three daily services, requiring a much above-average subsidy.[13]

Double-tracking

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The first section of the duplication had been undertaken by Auckland Regional Council, as 'Project Boston', adding 2.2 km of double track between Boston Road Station and Morningside Station by early 2005.[14]

In May 2005, work began to prepare the rail corridor between New Lynn and Henderson for double tracking[10] and construction of the double track commenced on 31 December 2005.[15] On 19 December 2006, the central government approved a NZ$120 million package for double trackage in the other direction from New Lynn to Avondale; this included a 1 km long, 8 m deep trench through the centre of New Lynn for which construction began in 2009.[16]

On 8 June 2010, the double tracking of the Western Line was completed, enabling trains to run in both directions on one of two tracks all the way between Britomart Transport Centre in the Auckland CBD and Swanson station in Waitakere. The double-tracking cost $420 million and employed around 400 people.[14][17] The last section was a 3 km stretch between Avondale Station and Titirangi Road in New Lynn.[14] The station opened in September 2010.[18]

From the completion of the electrification of Auckland's suburban network in July 2015, services ceased on the non-electrified section of track between Waitakere and Swanson stations and were replaced by buses. This made Swanson the current northwestern terminus on the Western Line, as considering the low passenger numbers at Waitakere Station, increasing the height in the Waitakere Tunnel was not considered justified. Waitakere Village is now served by bus services connecting to Swanson and Henderson.

Additional station

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On 12 March 2017, Parnell Station was opened to Western Line services. Westfield station on the Eastern and Southern Lines closed on the same day.[19][20]

Services

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Suburban services are operated by Auckland One Rail under the Auckland Transport brand.

Stations

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Stations on the Western Line
Distance from Waitematā Name Opened Notes
0.00 km (0.00 mi) WaitematāH 7 July 2003[2]
Parnell 12 March 2017 Services initially stopped at this station in weekday evenings and at weekends only. From 26 August 2018, it became a stop for all services.
3.84 km (2.39 mi) NewmarketH 20 December 1873[2]
Grafton 9 April 2010 Replaced the nearby Boston Rd Station.
6.44 km (4.00 mi) Maungawhau 29 March 1880[2] Closed until late 2024 for redevelopment of the City Rail Link construction.[21]
Kingsland 29 March 1880[2]
Morningside April 1882[2]
10.09 km (6.27 mi) Baldwin Avenue 28 September 1953[2]
11.12 km (6.91 mi) Mount Albert 29 March 1880[2] Platform rebuilt and upgraded and pedestrian walkways opened in 2-stage programme 2012–2016.[22][23]
Avondale 29 March 1880[2] Original station replaced with a temporary facility on 19 January 2009 pending completion of new station.[2] Reopened on 8 June 2010.[24]
15.55 km (9.66 mi) New LynnH 29 March 1880[2] Original station closed on 28 June 1986. New station opened in 1984 and replaced with temporary facility on 4 May 2009 pending completion of trench.[2] Current station opened on 24 Sep 2010.[25]
16.66 km (10.35 mi) Fruitvale Road 28 September 1953[2]
18.46 km (11.47 mi) Glen Eden 29 March 1880[2]
20.77 km (12.91 mi) Sunnyvale 28 February 1924[2]
22.39 km (13.91 mi) HendersonH 21 December 1880[2] Rebuilt on 24 October 2006. Reopened on 2 November 2006.
23.86 km (14.83 mi) Sturges Road 1934[2]
25.71 km (15.98 mi) Rānui 16 November 1925[2]
28 km (17.40 mi) Swanson 18 July 1881[2] Terminus for electric unit services. Platform replaced in 2000.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Vela, Pauline, ed. (1989). "Tales of Scroggy Hill". In Those Days: An Oral History of Glen Eden. Glen Eden Borough Council. pp. 26–29. ISBN 0-473-00862-9.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Scoble, Juliet (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  3. ^ Leitch, David; Scott, Brian (1995). Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways (1998 ed.). Wellington: Grantham House. p. 14. ISBN 1-86934-048-5.
  4. ^ Rails magazine, March 1980, 15–16
  5. ^ Western Leader, 26 August 1980, front page.
  6. ^ Rails magazine, September 1980, p. 14
  7. ^ Auckland Regional Council: Rail Project Background
  8. ^ "Auckland Regional Council Press Release, 2 April 2004: The Prime Minister Launches Western Rail Line Construction". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  9. ^ "ARTA Rail Newsletter – Issue 16". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  10. ^ a b "ARTA Rail Newsletter – Issue 17". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  11. ^ "ARTA Rail Newsletter – Issue 21". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  12. ^ "West Rail Needs Passengers", Western Leader, 1 November 2007.
  13. ^ "Press Release: Auckland Regional Transport Authority – Helensville trial rail service ends". Scoop. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  14. ^ a b c "KiwiRail celebrates completion of Western Line Duplication" (PDF). KiwiRail – Project Update Newsletter. June 2010.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "ARTA Rail Newsletter – Issue 23". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  16. ^ Dearnaley, Mathew (20 December 2006). "Rail trench saviour for New Lynn shopping centre". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Auckland's rail renaissance". Region Wide. Auckland Regional Council. July 2010. p. 3.
  18. ^ "New Lynn Transport Centre - photos". 23 October 2010. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Auckland Transport – Parnell Station". Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  20. ^ Fitzgerald, Mary (14 March 2017). "Businesses and residents delighted with Parnell train station opening". Stuff. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Mt Eden station to be closed for four years". Radio NZ. 15 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Mt Albert station". Auckland Transport. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Stage one transforms Mt Albert Train Station". Scoop.co.nz. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  24. ^ Dearnaley, Mathew (9 June 2010). "New station comes with safety message". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland: APN Holdings NZ. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  25. ^ Dearnaley, Mathew (25 September 2010). "Governor General slams Auckland's traffic congestion". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland: APN Holdings NZ. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
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