Today’s “on this day” post comes from 2011:
In many of the debates about whether building a railway line to Auckland Airport should be a priority or not, most of the focus has been on making it easier for travellers to get between the city and the airport. This is somewhat understandable, as for regular travellers it seems bizarre for the trip between the city and the airport to take longer than the flight between Auckland and Wellington. Furthermore, having a congestion free option, which generally only rail can provide (I’m yet to see how a busway could be provided between the Airport and the central city) provides a level of reliability to travel times that I’m sure would be much appreciated.
But rail to Auckland Airport would be pretty expensive – north of a billion dollars according to a study undertaken in 2008 (although this does seem to have ‘gold-plated’ the cost quite a bit compared to other similar projects). Furthermore, only a proportion of travellers (generally business travellers and tourists) would be making trips between the CBD and the Airport that would be best served by this rail line. It seems doubtful whether that would generate enough demand, in and of itself, to justify such a big expenditure.
However, thinking about ‘rail to the airport’ as merely providing a connection for travellers hugely under-estimates its potential in my opinion. In fact, while “rail to the airport” has been a useful term in gaining public support of this project, I think referring to the line as the “Southwest Line” would actually be more useful in recognising its wider benefits.
One of the main reasons for constructing this line is emphasised by a report that Auckland Airport had undertaken recently: pointing out the growing importance of the Airport to Auckland’s and New Zealand’s economy. Not only is this importance evident in the wider benefits of the Airport, but also in the area around the Airport’s growing significance as an employment hub. Put simply, a lot of people work either at the airport or around the airport and over the next 10-20 that number of employees is likely to increase very significantly.
The study, by consultancy Market Economics, also highlights the increasing importance as an economic growth node of the airport focused and supporting businesses located at or near Auckland Airport – within the Auckland Airport Business District (comprising land owned by Auckland Airport) or on neighbouring land. This growth node has been called the Airport Corridor.
The Airport Corridor already generates or facilitates around $3 billion of GDP annually and its contribution is expected to grow to $5-6 billion by 2031. This growth is expected to increase employment in the Airport Corridor from a current estimate of 21,000 workers to as many as 38,000 by 2031.
The study notes the correlation between jobs created in the Airport Corridor and growth in Auckland Airport’s traffic volumes – as the more vibrant the Airport becomes, the more companies want to locate close to it. Currently, there are about 1,800 jobs within the Airport Corridor for every million passengers passing through the Airport.
The Market Economics study concludes, “Auckland Airport facilitates substantial levels of business activity by enabling and supporting tourism and trade in Auckland and throughout New Zealand. As Auckland Airport (and the air transport sector generally) grows more rapidly than the economy as a whole, its role as a facilitator and generator of business activity is expected to steadily increase into the longer term. Within the Auckland spatial economy, the Airport Corridor will be a major focus of business activity, and a catalyst for economic growth across the region. Its significance as a driver of economic growth should not be under-estimated.”
There are around 80,000 people employed in Auckland’s CBD at the moment, so creating an employment node at the Airport of nearly 40,000 by 2031 gives a good indication of how significant that would be. The table below shows the increase:
The Airport picks up on the need to plan carefully for how this would work, and what infrastructure would be needed to support such an employment node:
Auckland Airport’s chief executive Simon Moutter said, “This study reinforces the important role that Auckland Airport plays in helping grow New Zealand tourism and trade by improving the air services connections between New Zealand and the world…
…“On a regional basis, it is important that Auckland Airport is seen not just as part of Auckland’s transport infrastructure, but a key driver of the supercity’s future economic prosperity and visitor economy.
“By commissioning this study, we hope to improve understanding about the strong growth potential of both Auckland Airport and the Airport Corridor. It is important that this growth is factored into planning decisions in areas such as land development, transport infrastructure and public transport services.”
A lot of the land surrounding the Airport is currently used for carparking. But with the area becoming such an important employment node in the future I do wonder whether wasting such valuable land on parking (surface level parking at least) will be feasible and desirable: both from the Airport’s perspective and from the perspective of Auckland as a whole. But if the attractiveness of the area as an employment node is going to continue it will need to be easy for people to get to work there – which is where the Airport Railway Line comes in.
As far as I can see, there will be three main users of the Airport Railway Line:
- Travellers themselves
- People working around the Airport and nearby employment centres (this is likely to be the biggest share of potential users)
- People living in Mangere and its surrounding suburbs, who work in Newmarket, the CBD, Manukau or other parts of the rail network
It’s pretty unlikely that spending close to a billion dollars on constructing the Airport Line would make sense if it were only to fulfil one, or even two, of these three functions. But the fact that it can provide all three – coupled with the predicted speedy growth of the area as an employment hub – means that I think it would be viable. Certainly in my opinion the CBD Rail Tunnel is more necessary, but in 10 years time if we haven’t built the Airport Line I think we’re really going to leave Auckland in a bit of a messy situation of having another car-dependent Albany or East Tamaki: just bigger, uglier and more congested.
The full study into the contribution of Auckland Airport to Auckland and New Zealand’s economy is here.
Update:
There has been little information on progress for rail to the airport in recent times, although the currently underway Kirkbride Road interchange project is being future-proofed for either light-rail or heavy-rail – as Auckland Transport seem to have a slightly strange obsession with light-rail at the moment. It seems that there’s still not a particularly strong push for this project, which is perhaps OK given the focus on CRL at the moment. However, as the post above highlights, Airport Rail is really as much about serving the surrounding areas and the Airport’s growing employment numbers as is it about travellers. It will be important in 2015 to see some progress, at least with route protection.
Also while on the topic of airport travellers, it’s interesting to see the numbers are continuing to rise strongly and in November reached 14.8 million for the previous 12 months.
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You are right should be termed the South West Line.
Why is there no discount for Hop on the Airport bus? It’s about time AT took over that route.
Airport line, well I always thought of it more as a Mangere line, which does make sense, there would be plenty of people travelling from Mangere to other destinations on the line, but it also serves the airport providing a non-congested means of getting to the city and can hold passengers and all there luggage much more appropriately. Seems to me its bargain at less than a billion, much more preferable to more stupid, dreadful looking highways/motorways that cost several times the amount. AT’s current schedule for the Airport Line, Northern Line and Roskill line listed on there website looks very disappointing in terms of timefram, seems there response to all rail projects, throw a few decades at it and worry about it later…
I feel as though we should also be looking at a far cheaper option that can be done before the rail line to the airport. The CRL is likely going to be completed in 2023 and has to be done before rail to the airport. So focus in the meantime should be on a high frequency busway from Botany to Manukau, connecting at both the Manukau and Puhinui train stations then to the airport, This will then hopefully slow down the effects of the Airport area becoming a mini motor city.
Here are the challenges, as I see it, facing an airport rail link:
* Airport workers have shift patterns which are all over the place. It isn’t a 9-to-5 job, unlike the bulk of CBD jobs, so, difficult to capture for public transport.
* What will it cost to duplicate the current Onehunga Branch?
* The overall airport precinct will end up with about 32,000 or so jobs (2031 projection; currently around 22,000 jobs), but this is in a fairly low-density environment when compared with the CBD – so, still, plenty of room for parking.
What can be done now:
* There is scope for improving the existing public transport links into South Auckland, perhaps with a high-frequency bus service to the Manukau hub.
* There is also scope for connecting the airport into the rail network, my suggestion would be with small but frequent free bus links to Middlemore or Papatoetoe. Free’s always good (the current airport bus link into the city has a quite different market catchment). So I am in broad agreement with Brandon’s comments above.
Ross
* Airport workers have shift patterns which are all over the place. It isn’t a 9-to-5 job, unlike the bulk of CBD jobs, so, difficult to capture for public transport.
Perhaps you’ve missed that the Rapid Transit Network is already changing to all day 10 minute frequencies? No-one is proposing a peak only, or 9 to 5 service for a Mangere Line. In fact the hours of operation on the network are planned to lengthen as the EMUs are all introduced.
* What will it cost to duplicate the current Onehunga Branch?
To run 6tph it doesn’t need full double tracking, certainly sections of it, and it does need more grade separation to increase frequencies and safety. Not a trivial sum, but this is a one off capital cost, I don’t get the obsession with not investing in permanent networks?
*As for land wasted for parking in the area, well this waste will continue until there are good alternatives- rail use up 18% currently in AKL where we provide it, it will attract riders for all sorts of purposes, even when there is parking, remember it is not likely to remain un-priced even parking where it is now, land is too valuable.
As for the bus solution you suggest; that’s exactly either in operation or planned with the New Network; transfer at Papatoetoe. Not useless but not the same as clear one seat Rapid Transit to the heart of the city and all other networks. The physical nature of the bus/train at Paptoetoe needs improving too; unclear to new users and a less than ideal uncovered bridge climb.
“In fact the hours of operation on the network are planned to lengthen as the EMUs are all introduced.”
Do you know if this will this happen after the network is running all EMU’s, because I am really sick of the last train being at 10pm Mon-Thurs when I finish work at 11pm and having to get a 90 minute bus+lots of walking instead of a 30 minute train.
I reckon to simplify and improve things they could just merge Sat and Sun timetables and make “Excluding Public Holiday” and “Friday Only” services part of the every day timetable.
As far as I know there’s barely enough drivers to run the existing train timetable, let alone any more services. That means better freqs out west and later evening service not likely for some time.
I’m sure many of them would be keen for a couple of hours OT? 😛
As I understand it that’s already the only way the current timetable is being held together and not looking good in the short-medium term as Kiwirail are looking to hire a heap of them for freight services
I don’t see train drivers on the AT careers page. I always wanted to be a train driver.
Here you go stevenz.
http://www.transdev.com.au/careers/become-a-rail-driver/
You’re welcome.
I think the duplication of the Onehunga line and grade separations are included as part of the CRL project.
Should the airport actually be the target at the moment, how much extra patronage would exrending the onehunga line to mangere generate.
If it was done incrementally (mangere bridge, mangere town, ascot park, airport shopping centre, airport) you wouldnt even need the onehunga branch duplication immediately, costs would seem more palletable spread over a longer timeframe and with pressure for expansion driven by previous expansions patronage.
Excellent idea.Staging sensibly makes a lot of sense and increases patronage as you go. I’d rather make a start with a seed that keeps growing than something that keeps getting put off. Sure a high frequency bus to Papatoetoe station would do right now. And a bus service to the end of the rail for the catchment that makes sense as you extend rail line.
Thank you, that’s what I was trying to say. The idea I had had for Papatoetoe would be a point-to-point service from the airport which would go into the carpark off Station Rd. E.g. If I was an incoming air traveller from Wellington in the am peak, I would currently look to getting a taxi to Papatoetoe, which would be reasonably quick, then getting a train from there.
Luke – I agree. At the open day for the East – West proposal I noted NZTA /AT had not made any provision for rail extension beyond Onehunga and propose spending large sums on asphalt before any expenditure on rail extension. I believe this omission is almost criminal because of the huge sums of taxpayer/ratepayer money involved. Rail extension needs to be planned before any roading is undertaken. And we were sold the Super City on the basis of improved planning! It really is unbelievably poor work.
Rail extension to Mangere Bridge would greatly increase the catchment area in this rapidly blossoming suburb – a really worhwhile incremental step.
Luke, Stephen F, Warren S.. completely agree. Get to Mangere Bridge first, then extend the tracks. Single track bridge could be OK for years, even when the trains go all the way to to the airport.
There are benefits in simply improving access to/from the airport, especially if it bypasses congested highways. Even if a visitor, or resident for that matter, would likely drive or take a taxi, there is a nagging level of uncertainty associated with the ever present possibility of a wreck on the motorway. That will drive some demand, and can only be answered by alternatives. Today there are two alternatives, both slow and present the danger of getting you stuck in traffic, thus providing a nice possum’s eye view of your plane taking off. Also, that crawl through Epsom etc. creates additional friction.
I’m glad someone picked up the underutilisation of land as a consideration. In fact, returns on development could be used to pay for the system.
The airport doesn’t have to be at the end of the line, but could be a spur, with trains operating the same headways as the main line schedule.
Question: Has a ROW been identified? Any land acquisition going on?
Puhinui Station is only 6.5km from the International Terminal. Why would it be so difficult/expensive to cut and cover down Puhinui Road? Allowing for a few bends I can’t see it being more than 7kms of track required. And the station would need a bit of an upgrade.