Manukau Branch
| Manukau Branch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The west end of the station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Urban rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Open[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Manukau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | KiwiRail Network and Auckland Transport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Transdev | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Character | Urban | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | AM class EMU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track length | 2.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of tracks | Two | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | 25kV AC[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Manukau Branch is a 2.5 km spur railway line[1] from Wiri off the North Island Main Trunk Railway to Manukau City Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, part of ONTRACKs Project DART. It is the first fully new section or railway line constructed in Auckland since the Eastern Line in 1930.[3]
The estimated cost of the project was $50 million,[1] with construction having begun June 2008,[4] and was expected to be completed in late 2011.[3][5] However, due to other work on the Auckland network taking priority, completion was re-scheduled for April 2012.[6] Station works were reported essentially finished by October 2011, [7] and the line opened on 15 April 2012.[8]
Route
The branch leaves the NIMT south of Puhinui, slightly north of the closed Wiri Railway Station. The line runs on both New Zealand Railways Corporation and Auckland Council land. The New Zealand Transport Agency has built some of the line's earthworks. The extension of State Highway 20 to State Highway 1 included provision for the route.[9]
Southern link
Following the opening of the branch, Auckland Mayor Len Brown called for a link between the branch and the North Island Main Trunk facing southwards.[10] The formation is in place for such a link (constructed by NZTA at a cost of approximately $25 million), but tracks need to be laid for it, at a cost of approximately $1 million, and $4-5 million to reconfigure the Ports of Auckland/KiwiRail sidings which were built to a design that conflicts with the proposed southern link.[10]
Station
The line has one railway station Manukau Train Station, at its terminus in Manukau City Centre. Manukau City was merged into the Auckland supercity in 2010.[9] The station will be integrated with a new 16 bay bus station on Auckland Council owned Lot 59, to form a local transport hub serving most of the southern Auckland Region. The station is also intended to move more people into Manukau Central, an area identified by council as a future metropolitan centre.[5]
The station is in (and accessed via) a 300m long trench, similar to the New Lynn Railway Station, to ease passage under nearby roads. A total of 47,000m2 of earth had been excavated when the earthworks finished in May 2010.[3]
The station is located at the heart of a campus for the Manukau Institute of Technology, with part of the station being in the campus building constructed above it.[5]
The line opened on 15 April 2012.[11] Auckland mayor Len Brown believes 600,000 people will pass through the Manukau station each year, making it the second busiest in the city after Britomart in the CBD.[8] After several months in operation, during June 2012 daily usage levels were around 500-600 passengers.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 Romy Udanga (20 June 2009). "New $50m rail route gets under way". Manukau Courier. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ↑ "Manukau Rail Link". KiwiRail. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Manukau's "big dig" finishes early" (PDF). KiwiRail - Project Update Newsletter. June 2010.
- ↑ "Ontrack told to stick to link timetable". New Zealand Herald. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- 1 2 3 "Moving people in new directions". LG. New Zealand Local Government. March 2011. p. 9.
- ↑ Mathew Dearnaley (10 May 2011). "Agencies 'too busy' to open rail link on time". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ↑ "Business Report, October 2011" (PDF). Auckland Transport. p. 14. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- 1 2 "New Auckland rail line opens". Radio New Zealand. 15 April 2012.
- 1 2 "Manukau Extension". Transit New Zealand. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- 1 2 Mathew Dearnaley (16 April 2012). "Mayor wants link built 'sooner rather than later'". New Zealand Herald.
- ↑ "City's new rail line set to open". Auckland Now. 22 March 2012.
- ↑ "Statistics Report: June 2012" (PDF). Auckland Transport. July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.