Back in June 2011 Auckland Transport released station boarding data for each railway station between 2003 and 2010. The results obviously show significant growth throughout the entire network, but particularly at some stations (like Panmure and Pukekohe) and less so in other areas (like Waitakere and Te Mahia). Here are the numbers from 2003 to 2010:

For some reason Auckland Transport has been rather less than proactive in releasing the numbers for 2011 and 2012. However, finally a LGOIMA request by Arthur Stokes has flushed the information out. So here it is:2011-2012-station-boardingsAs can be seen in the tables above, the 2012 numbers may have been affected by some operational issues on the day that the counts were made (presumably with the Hop Card and the passenger counting technology on the EMUs we’ll be able to get this data for any day of the year).

A few thoughts:

  • The numbers are a bit all over the place for a lot of stations over the two years, highlighting the issues associated with looking at just one day.
  • Overall daily boardings grew from 35,750 in 2010 to 43,346 in 2012 – though pretty much all that growth was between 2010 and 2011. This reflects the stagnation of rail patronage in 2012.
  • Manukau’s boarding numbers are pretty embarrassingly low. Opening the bus interchange and MIT on top of the station can’t happen soon enough. Oh, and for Auckland Transport to stop wasting money on empty parking buildings.
  • Waitakere, Te Mahia and Westfield are still the three quietest stations on the network and I would think their days are numbered, though all three stations had a bit of patronage growth in 2012.
  • New Lynn is now the third fourth busiest station on the network, overtaking the southern cluster of Papakura, Manurewa, Papatoetoe and Middlemore.
  • Grafton’s growth has continued strongly in the last couple of years since it opened in 2010.

I’m not sure why this data has been so difficult to get out of Auckland Transport, but great that it’s finally available.

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61 comments

  1. Oi take those Sun Glasses off Mr Anderson and go read those stats again.

    Papakura: 1775
    New Lynn: 1684

    Still making Papakura the third busiest station on the network although losing 11.5% is bad enough (probably owing to the works at Papakura and the loss of some of the Park and Ride)

    As for Manukau, time to go put the literal boot into certain Councillors or ex-Councillors again…

  2. Interesting numbers although somewhat counter-intuitive.

    Manukau will come on when MIT is finished, but it really does need the Southern Link.

    1. I agree, Manukau is a case of building PT infrastructure and letting demand build, something Auckland usually never does; rather than allowing travel patterns to develop and then attempting to retrofit PT around that. At present there’s not much walk up housing in the area, the MIT campus is yet to built, and more or less no buses actually feed into it. Patronage will build and we’re already seeing existing buildings being retrofitted as apartments in the area (http://www-mcentral-co-nz.saturn.netactive.co.nz/building) something which no doubt is more feasible with a rail link to downtown right next door.

      1. Making the station much more legible from the mall exit, and from the surrounding centre would really help. Now that we have the huge empty carpark building can get rid of some of those carparks between Putney Way and Wiri Station Road, and make a nice boulevard leading from the station to the Council building, Westfield and Rainbows end. Could even just remove on street Parking on Putney way, widen the footpath, and put a few big signs up around the place.
        Also once the RPTP is in place and buses from Chapel Road and surrounds link straight to station should be a good patronage boost.

  3. No doubt the location of Manukau is not attactive to the general user of PT but student use undoubtitly will increase as student numbers also incresae.
    The southern link at Manukau is esential. It must be constructed.

    As for Westfield. It is in a very good position for a large number of possable commuters and is the boarding place for Rail staff. That will adventually go with the relocation of staff facilities. BUT for people in the Mt Richmond, Flat Rock and possibly some parts of Otahuhu, it is a convetient location. BUT there is no easy way to get there. Go by car and there is no parking available, to much other industrial traffic. There is no commuter bus. the only way is on foot, and that makes it a bit difficult. If there was parking it would be a usfull station.

    There is ofcourse a staff park there at present and that could be useful as a Park and Ride when staff facilities are relocated.

    From the residential areas of Mt Richmond, Flat rock etc there is the other choices at either Sylvia Park or Otahuhu, BUT there is no Park and ride at Otahuhu and poor or no bus from the residenital areas to the station. At for Sylvia Park, that is an excellent location if you don’t want the travel to Newmarket. BUT there is the added dissadvantage that at all car parks at Sylvia shopping are signed , NOT TO BE USED FO TRAIN PASSENGERS.

    So I see Westfied as an impostant link for the residential use. Increase the Parking for Rail Passengers and proving a commuter bus after the staff facilities move to its new setup in the near future. KEEP WESTFIED

    CRD

    1. It is planned that Otahuhu will become a major rail/bus interchange in the next 10 years, and with that, there may be scope for a park and ride. Hang tight, it is coming.

    2. Also don’t forget Westfield is the last station before the lines split making its location attractive ifif it was actually convenient to park at.

  4. Yep, Manukau will build. It could’ve built even further if the track went round to the mall. Thank you councillors.

  5. Couple of other points I have noticed:

    In general the Western lines have performed better in 2012 than the Southern lines which is similar to the trend we saw in late 2011/early 2012.
    My station seems to have continued to have good growth which I’m happy about
    Its interesting to see the breakdown of Newmarket, in 2012 there was fairly even usage between both the southern and western lines.

  6. Days numbered for Waitakere! What the? Extend rail services to Huapai and Waimauku… Not retrench. We have enough rolling stock to make Huapai happen when the EMU’s arrive.

      1. I’m caught in both camps. While I can see that the NW offers a good route for services to town, it seems that some work to fix the line between Swanson and Huapai, in conjunction with some town planning (as opposed to the ad hoc way these towns are currently developing) could bring some very good patronage.

    1. It will only be in the decade between 2031 and 2041 where there will be enough development out there to even come close to justifying passenger rail. Spending five times more to run a diesel shuttle out to Waimaku, simply isn’t going to change the fact that very few people live out that way and want to go to destinations on the rail line. You’ll just spend millions to turn 100 passengers a day into 200. Think of the bus service that sort of money could fund if you could just drop the ideology.

      1. Nick, I’m not really in a position at this time to find figures but I can tell you from experience that there is a lot more traffic headed into town, in the am, from the Kumeu area now than there was just a few short years ago. If KR can make up its mind about the Northern line and hopefully bring it up to scratch then running services to Waimauku (not Hellensville as the total journey time creates a disincentive I think) could work but as I wrote above, it needs to be done in conjunction with some town planning. Its not idealogical, more that the line is there already and a busway is not. A busway is a long way off as well and also will cost many millions.

        1. Yes you’ve nailed the point there Bryce, lots of traffic headed to *town*. But the rail line takes a very circuitous route to get to town from Kumeu, it’s a distance of 41km. Kumeu to town via the motorway corridor is 27km. That’s a 52% longer route.

          Consider the trip required to use an extended diesel shuttle: Get to a station at Kumeu. If you haven’t planned ahead you have a wait of up to an hour for a train, or perhaps half hourly at peak times if you are lucky. Then ride the first diesel shuttle for sixteen minutes to get to Swanson. Transfer at Swanson to the electrified suburban railway (average wait of five minutes at peak, ten or fifteen off peak). Then ride the entire length of the western line for 53 minutes to reach Britomart. You’re looking at a minimum 74 minute long journey with at least one transfer. Right now the bus already takes just 51 minutes to reach downtown, with the proposed bus priority it could be down under 40 minutes.

          So that is an important point I think, the rail line from Kumeu isn’t any good for getting to town, so such a line would have to stack up in terms of trips to destinations that it serves well, i.e. Henderson and New Lynn. Like I said above, in about two decades there will be big growth in the Waimaku-Kumeu area, and big intensification in Henderson and New Lynn. At that point it starts to make more sense.

          It’s not really fair to say the line is there already, because a lot of capital investment has to go into the line to make even the diesel shuttle work. I’ve heard suggestions that it needs new track work and passing loops, stabilisation of the tunnel, staff facilities at each end, etc. Further to that, bus priority along SH16 is already happening as part of the motorway widenings (shoulder lanes), and extension of this into a busway is likely to happen sooner rather than later. This is simply because there is a big growth area already expanding between Westgate and Hobsonville that needs good transit anyway, effectively buses from the likes of Kumeu will benefit from this at no extra cost.

          So we have a situation where bus priority will already exist, but the rail line requires considerable investment to get operational. Add in the fact the trip to the main trip generators in the region is much longer and slower by rail and you can see it just can’t be a priority any time soon.

          The ideology comment was directed at Jon Reeves, not yourself. From what I can see Jon is very much of the “always rail to everywhere at any cost regardless of the circumstances” school of thought, that I call a rail focussed ideology.

        2. Nick R –
          Those buses are going to roar down the Northwest motorway until they hit a wall of traffic at Waterview. Then, any talk of theoretical faster journey times than a train becomes academic based on a 4 to 8 km/ph average vehicle speed depending on whether the CRL is built or not…..according to the recent study which you will be fully familiar with.

          The alternative, so that the buses can go faster than trains from Kumeu seems to be a full-on busway into the city from Waterview at how many dollars? And, supposing you do get the go-ahead to build this final stage of the Northwest Busway, what does it then do to the business case of the CRL?

          Not being ideological here, just pointing your attention to a Northwest Busway scheme that I think is a threat to the CRL if it is to actually work in the way you want it to…..ie express buses all the way into the CBD.
          Retaining the diesel shuttle option to the Northwest on the other hand enhances the case for the CRL by adding to those patronage figures.

        3. @tuktuk

          Bus lanes along GNR and into the city will allow for average speeds much greater than 8 km/h.

          I also think there will be plenty of demand in the existing stations to fill up peak services along the western line a soon as 10 years after the CRL is built. Both the western and northwestern corridors are needed and should both be improved by the CRL and bus priority respectively.

        4. Just to elaborate a little further. A shuttle bus may be the best means to deliver Northwest commuters to the rail head at Swanson. In a similar way, post CRL, it may be that the Northwest Busway runs as far as Avondale station which will be in close proximity to the brand new SH12 motorway. At that point city-bound passengers may transfer to the rail network.

          How long from Avondale to Aotea Station via the CRL?
          As the comparison, how long would it take if staying on the bus through the inner part of the Northwest Motorway and bus priority lanes into the city without spending up for a full-on busway between Waterview and the CBD?

          Over the long term, bus transfer passengers in general are going to be a big trip generator along the core rail network.

        5. Waterview to KRd on Great North Rd is a pretty ready-to-go high value/unblocked transit route and once linked to bus priority on the NW further out than Waterview (Pt Chev) would be an excellent expansion for AT. And complementary to the Western Line; and in no way undermining the case for the CRL.

        6. So yeah, as people have noted above there are bus lanes from Waterview to downtown already (currently Waterview to the city is 20 minutes with the express and up to 30 minutes with the all stoppers). NTZA is also in the process of establishing bus shoulders along the corridor from Waterview to Westgate, and the developer of the new Westgate north development is building a new bus interchange as part of it. It’s not really a case of building a full on busway (although I do hope we stage that in fairly soon), but really just using the bus shoulders and bus lanes that already exist or are under development.

          I’m not sure of the value of busing NW commuters to Swanson. By the time you’d made it to Swanson, a bus going the other way would be at Lincoln Interchange already, which today is just 33 minutes by bus from downtown (and that is before any of the programmed improvements). There is no contest to the city, so you’re back to the train transfer only being useful to get from the outer northwest to the likes of Henderson. A better idea would be a bus from Waimauku-Kumeu to Henderson on the direct path via Westgate and Lincoln Rd, which would serve most of those trips directly and still give a good rail connection for those headed to New Lynn or lesser destinations like Mt Albert.

          And tuktuk, a Northwest Busway actually boosts the case for the CRL and vice versa. One of the primary benefits of the CRL is it reduces bus volumes in the CBD from rail served areas (as all those buses feed into rail at perfect pinch points from the west, south and east), which gives more room for buses from areas there are no train lines (i.e. the Northern Busway corridor, the Northwest Motorway corridor, and the arterial of the central isthmus). Or in other words, more buses on BRT corridors from the non-rail-served areas makes the CRL all the more necessary for the rest of the system.

        7. Actually, and having used this service, the trip to K Rd is not bad but from there to Britomart is painfull. Oh, and the ‘enhanced bus shoulder lanes’ are not going to be ready till 2017. In fact, at a local meeting, NZTA admitted that bus services, during the reconstruction of the causeway, will be merged into general traffic.

        8. Nick, it’s a 50 minute trip from Te Atatu to Britomart so 70 or so on rail at peak times from Kumeu doesn’t sound too bad. Also, trains do have some brownie points compared to trains. If I had to choose a 60 minute trip on a bus vs 70 on a train, I’d wait for the train (especially a nice quiet EMU) 😀

      2. A few more reasons to run trains to Waimuku
        – Passengers prefer trains, patronage is enhanced by running trains, If buses really were seen as a viable alternative to driving why aren’t more people using them.
        – There will be spare diesel trains available once electrification is completed
        – Its easier to build on an established operation, than starting from new, just look at the history of suburban trains in Auckland

  7. About bloody time. I was also trying to get hold of those figures, without success. The email responses I got suggested that the staff on the other end were pretending not to know what I was talking about. Congratulations to Andrew for getting it out of them.

    1. When I sent them the OIA request (In mid-November), after the normal 20 working days went by I had received nothing more than a couple of vague acknowledgments. I sent an email to remind them that they should have responded within 20 days, to which they replied with another email telling me to wait another 20 working days because it had taken longer than expected. They finally released the information 2 months after my first request.

      I don’t know why it could have taken so long. As far as I’m aware, they had the information. And I had no intention to use it commericially; I only intended to get it so that I could send it to the writers of this blog, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t have wanted to release it.

      But, anyway; at least it’s released now.

      1. Whoops, sorry I got your name wrong Arthur! Yes vagueness was the name of the game with the responses I received as well. Good on you for sticking with it and going through OIA channels.

  8. 10 years before Park & Ride at Otahuhu????. So that in itself is a good reason to keep WESTFIELD and to use the existing staff Car park for Park & Ride when staff move south.

    CRD

    1. Better to have a good bus service to Otahuhu. I’ve only seen the staff carpark while going past on the train, but it doesn’t seem to be very big. Also, if a third main is extended north of Otahuhu (I believe the plan eventually is to have one on the NIMT to the port), it may need to go through that carpark.

      1. On the subject of bus service to Otahuhu. I recently caught the hourly 304 bus Mangere Bridge via Favona wanting to get off by Otahuhu station, and there isn’t even a bus stop in Station Road to get off by the station (cnr station and Salesyard)! Only a bus stop right near the Otahuhu shops. Inconvenient for ANY workers in the whole industrial area too.

        1. this is being thankfully fixed by the bus network redesign, where Otahuhu station will become a major southern transfer point, with all those Otahuhu Mangere buses passing through.

  9. Can someone do an OIA request for HOP generated passenger numbers?

    I’m keen to see some numbers for say a week or a month worth to train usage to see the underlying usage patterns and to cross check the above numbers.

    I suspect AT aren’t releasing them though as they are embarrassed by the true level of fare evasion, which will show up as massively lower figures that the May 2012 surveys would show…

    Otherwise, why are AT “calling in the experts” to “halt” a decline in passenger growth – when the above figures show growth for every year except 2012 which shows an (as expected) levelling off?
    Or do I smell a dead “conspiracy rat” when I should be smelling dead “cock up cockroaches”?

    1. Anyone can submit an OIA Greg, I suggest you send the request off to AT yourself since you are the one interested in the data.

  10. True. When I was working in Auckland back when the Onehunga line opened, I used it to see some clients during the day. However, the hourly frequency really took up too much time. On a number of occasions I found myself waiting 55 minutes at Te Papapa for a train back to my office or to my next appointment.

    Onehunga needs half hourly services all day.

    1. Yes I think we need to move to a minimum 30 minute headway at all times on every line. At Onehunga that means just running half hourly service all day due to the infrastructure constraints, but so be it.

      I remember when the first report commissioned by ARTA said the modelling reported it would carry less than 100 people a day, but in the same report the consultant basically said the assumptions of the model were so irrelevant to the situation the number shouldn’t be believed… but unfortunately so much weight keeps getting put on modelling results which are often indicative at best and downright wrong at worst.

  11. Certainly with it becoming the main transfer point for services to Mangere/Airport Oaks the upgrade to higher frequency is really needed to make this work. Note the train takes 25 minutes and the bus takes 40 at best (but unreliable) so for those going to Newmarket and the Britomart area the train offers an excellent trip to town, however not so much if you have to wait 55 minutes for it.
    Would also help knock $100 to $200 million off the cost of the CBDRL and Airport rail line if the full upgrade is done!
    However in short term should be possible to get 30 mins all day, and maybe an extra train or 2 at peak times.

    1. Well double tracking and fixing level crossings to Onehunga [to enable greater frequency] as well as building a branch line from the western to Mt Roskill should both be done as small a [sub 100mil each] pre-CRL DART II package. Add to that electrification to Pukekohe.

      These will enable more value to be gained from the new trains and they set us up for maximum benefit from the CRL [plus other things that are happening; Parnell, Third Main, station upgrades].

      Also it would help focus the CRL funding debate by allowing that project to be clearly priced without these additions that all have immediate value once we have the new trains to run and are not just needed for the CRL…

      1. I think you might find Onehunga double tracking and grade separation (if that is what you mean by ‘fixing’ level crossings) might be a bit pricier than that depending on what is required. Recall that New Lynn cost $160m for about 1km of trench. The OBL is 3.5km with eight crossings to deal with, plus two new or rebuilt stations would be needed and some significant changes to the junction at Penrose. Not saying it isn’t worthwhile, but that it might not be to easy and probably needs to be tied to expansions as I’m not sure if it would stand up on it’s own.

        There are other ways to deal with that however, something as simple as a passing loop around Te Papapa station might allow frequencies of four trains an hour or better, even if it didn’t improve the line speed or reduce the impact on the road network.

        1. I think they are just going to have to bite the bullet and close some of the crossings. Maybe build pedestrian / cycle underpasses in the future as funding allows.

        2. Agreed. Galway should certainly close, and one of Victoria or Alfred St. Probably could close Maurice Road, and maybe Captain Springs Road. Potentially should keep pedestrian crossings there to reduce severance though. Very difficult to sort O’Rorke Road, unless you realign Station Road to the north, and demolish a building or 2 in the process.

      2. I think you might be seriously under estimating cost of Mt Roskill connection too. Is 4km from Dominion Road to where it would join main line at Pak N Save. I think the new line would take pretty much all of Pak N Save carparks, so they would probably want compo to build a large multi storey carpak over the rail line. I know the currently built sections of the North Western around Mt Roskill have allowed for it in the corridor, but I’m not sure how much notice the Waterview Plans have taken of the rail corridor, and potentially could make it very difficult.
        Also need much more detailed study of the Dominion Road corridor to see what the benefits of doing this vs light rail would give.
        Another point is not sure the current heavy rail is best suited for this corridor in the long term.
        For I’ve been thinking about building a driverless metro along this corridor to link with the NW metro at Pt Chev, then after Onehunga could connect with Southern line at Southdown, Eastern at Syliva Park, and then onto Pakuranga and become the Eastern Line heading off towards Botany.
        Of course this is another 2040 plan.

        1. That section would actually be pretty cheap and easy. First off the route is already designated and Kiwirail own the land, Pak n Save might not like it but they will be leasing the land under those carparks. Waterview took some of the land from the rail corridor but they did have to replace it so that shouldn’t be an issue. The trickiest part will be the junction and likely grade separation of New North Rd, after that the corridor will be sitting there without any obstructions all the way to Dominion Rd so it should be pretty cheap to build the formation and lay the tracks.

        2. The tenure of that triangular piece of land under the carparks is a bit strange, there are two separate titles. One if the Crown, the other is the National Trading Company of NZ (Foodstuffs propoerty arm). This suggests they at least have a leasehold title over the property so would need to be bought out of that. Unfortunately I have to spend my works money to find out the detail, so probably shouldn’t!

          Have a look at this Waterview Poster here http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/waterviewconnection/docs/poster-project-route-2012-10.pdf
          Presume the rail corridor is the dotted outline. They definitely aren’t building it like they did at earlier stages. Will be expensive to build the Maioro underpass especially. Will have to build it cut and cover from the Western Line to the tunnel portal to protect whats left of the reserve too.

          Another unrelated note from that poster is have you noticed the madness of the Waterview interchange? There are overbridges over overbridges, over the motorway! Its going to stick out like a sore thumb all over the area. Some of them will have to be quite high up in the air, and they won’t be hidden in a gully like Spaghetti Junction.

        3. Yeah not to promising from those renders. Well we’ll find out shortly, the works on Maioro and Richardson Rd start in a month or two. Hopefully they are like the others and have allowances for the rail span.

        4. Yeah Luke that junction is so Motorway Triumphant isn’t it… Joyce will love the looming sight of those flyover flyovers as he drives down the new wider un-buswayed NW as part of his new all motorway trip from his Albany Lifestyle block to the airport [SH18/16/20]… we are spending an awful lot of money so that one man never has to give way to a fellow citizen on his way to work and out of the country…..

          And yes the severance to the reserve caused by the rail line will have to be ameliorated. I guess with cut and cover…?

        5. Looking at it further Luke building a junction there would be an opportunity to make connections between the two reserves severed by the Western Line; Alan Wood and Harbutt.

          As Nick points out taking the new line below NNR from a trench through Alan Wood would be required anyway so it would go across to the privet shrouded northern side of the track and links and improvements should be included to connect these currently separated green spaces. Through the PNS carpark.

        6. The Maioro St underpass is already built. This is an old image as the ramp in the middle of the photo is already in use as the onramp to the motorway, on the right side however you can see the space for the rail line.

        7. You can also see the gap quite clearly on the GIS viewer. Here is an screenshot showing what I mean.

          I only wish they would do the same with the Northwestern widening (for a busway of course).

        8. Thats great to see then. Still have concerns about further down where the road heads down into a tunnel, as it looks as though the designation is along a cut slope.
          Still will require a 700m cut and cover from the rail line as far as the Waterview Tunnel entrance to make it under New North Road and protect the reserve.
          Have been doing a bit of googling, and have found that the Motorway has partially been built in the old designation, so a new designation will be required. NZTA also purchased a bunch of land off Kiwirail, and in return will acquire the same area of land for the railway.
          See Kiwirail’s submission here http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/completing-wrr/docs/docs-enquiry/submitter/sub164.pdf
          This decision document is also relevant, page 331 responds to Kiwirail. http://www.epa.govt.nz/Publications/waterview-boi-report-vol-01.pdf
          “[1321] As such, NZTA requires both s177 and landowner approval from KiwiRail.
          [1322] The extensive work and negotiation have produced a comprehensive written agreement between the two authorities, granting both.”
          Have sent an FYI request to Kiwirail to try to find out details of this agreement.

          Another issue is that this rail line will not give a better journey time to Britomart (although will to Newmarket), at least until the CBDRL is built. Journey time to Britomart will be roughly same as New Lynn, being 33 minutes. The express bus gives a time of 23 minutes from where Dominion Road crosses the motorway. Will only be when CBDRL slashes journey time and increases array if destinations in the city centre that line will be worthwhile.

        9. Obviously this line comes into its own once the CRL is in operation but I don’t think you should be so certain about those bus speeds especially as we now know that Dominion Rd is getting a less intrusive upgrade. In fact that Dom Rd decision makes this branch all the more important. Furthermore the new trains will certainly offer a much more pleasant journey than the currently very full buses. Also this is a different route to the buses, as you hint, so it also offers a complementary service. Are you suggesting that it wouldn’t attract riders?

        10. It may be 4km, but all the formation is already there and the bridges have been built with a span for a twin track line already as part of SH20. From what I can tell PaknSave don’t own that part of the carpark, so they must lease the land from Kiwirail. At least the GIS viewer shows that parcel pays no rates, which suggests it is Kiwirail corridor already. So no compensation required, they simply don’t renew the lease or buy them out of the remainder. Sure there will be some cost there and you’d hope the council would expedite the approval for whatever they want to do with their parking afterward, but they don’t need to buy the land.

          The Waterview plans have been designed around the rail designation. A key point is that it has been designated for a rail line for donkeys years, so it doesn’t need to get RMA approval and public notification and all the rest, they can just build the thing.

          Yeah I figure the junction will be trickiest bit, although the new line would have to come in below grade to underpass New North Rd so you’d probably use that grade differential with the main line to grade separate the junction and perhaps it could be tied into grade separating Woodward Ave too.

          Apart from that it’s really just a case of laying 4km of base course, track, signals and power supply, and building two simple surface stations adjacent to existing overbridges, and sorting out some decent bus stops (one of which could be a very simple terminus platform next to Dominion Rd).

        11. It looks like the reserve might only be west bound at the junction which I guess could be the case as it is there as a freight route most of all isn’t it? But surely at most all P’n’S would need is replacement parking over the new track so hardly a biggy. I guess that does offer the opportunity to make a proper junction taking the down line under the existing track to grade separate it. more expensive of course than a level one and would depend on the frequencies we hope to run I guess….

  12. Doesn’t look hard at all, AC even own the land for the Owairaka Station on Richardson Rd. It would offer real expansion to the network and take pressure off the radial bus routes by being a much better option for the longest bus riders, especially on Dom Rd, especially at the peaks. Would be easy to integrate with the FTN bus routes which run perpendicular to this branch.

    I agree with Nick that this looks easier and for more benefit than upgrading Onehunga, after all it brings a new catchment, be a real renewal enabler for this regenerating area. And offers interesting running pattern options. Also nothing about it is incompatible with adding LRT to Dom Rd.

    Also like Nick’s cheaper capacity upgrade for the O line, double tracking is really part of taking it across the harbour to Mangere….

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