I had a look around the rail network today at what works are going on. It is pretty impressive in many places to see the incredible amount of work that has gone on over the last few days – particularly around Baldwin Ave station and Newmarket.

Here’s what Baldwin Ave looks like:And the NZ Herald wondered why we couldn’t run trains over the holiday period… perhaps because there are no tracks in some places to run them on!

Perhaps the best views of the electrification masts going up are to be had around Newmarket:It looks like KiwiRail might even be doing some landscaping in the triangle between the railway lines. It would be nice to have the harshness of this area softened with a few plants.

It is quite exciting to see the masts go up – being the first really really visible sign that rail electrification is most truly happening. I suspect there will be quite a few more masts up by the time the system reopens on January 10th.

Share this

7 comments

  1. I like the fact that the masts at Baldwin look a bit nicer than the standard ones on the rest of the network however I’m not impressed that they have put them into the platform itself, even if just at the edges. Why couldn’t they put them down the middle like they are planning to do with all of the other stations where there are side platforms?

    At Newmarket I suspect that the planting in the middle is to make things look better for the RWC as they did a lot of similar work out on the southern line because of it. I believe the air rights have already been sold off so long term there should be a building above the junction.

  2. Real nice pics thanks. I had planned on visiting Auckland soon after Christmas. but it hardly seemed worth it if I couldn’t ride the train to Onehunga and all that sort of stuff. Maybe March.

    1. Auckland Anniversary weekend is a great time to visit. The Seafood Festival will be on as well if you are into that sort of thing.

  3. Didn’t anyone at the Herald read the Kiwrail info saying Bridge replacement in Papatoetoe & Manurewa, but also track replacement in Papatoetoe???

  4. I noticed yesterday that there’s no track under the SEART so I’m assuming they’re lowering the track under that bridge. This bridge is relatively new (<15 years old IIRC) so I'm surprised they need to lower the trackbed here.

    1. The difference in clearance between standard and electrified is pretty significant, and given the gradients on the bridge it’s possible that its design height had to be curtailed for safety reasons. It is, after all, designed as a major truck route.
      Electrified rail wasn’t even a pipe dream back then, and metro rail was a joke. Being high enough for freight trains would’ve been enough.

  5. Just wondering if you guys knew that tram tracks are now being installed on the corner of Halsey Street and Gaunt Street?!! It’s actually happening.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *