Logistical success at Newmarket
29 January, 2008

Auckland Regional Council chairman Michael Lee says train commuters have coped well with changes today at Newmarket station as the $65 million modernisation of the country’s busiest junction went full steam ahead

The old station is closed and commuters from this morning used two temporary stations at Remuera Rd and Kingdon St, which are serving the southern and western rail lines respectively.

Mr Lee said the redevelopment of Newmarket station, part of a $600m upgrade to Auckland’s rail network, was the most significant change since Britomart opened in 2003.

Mr Lee congratulated ONTRACK and contractors who worked around the clock over Auckland Anniversary weekend to get the city’s second busiest station ready. MAXX ambassadors today helped commuters negotiate the new layout.

"ONTRACK, ARTA and commuters have worked together to make what could have been a difficult switch over a logistical success," said Mr Lee.

“Commuters seem to be taking it in their stride so far. I’m grateful for the patience of the travelling public, residents and businesses as the region tackles the big job of overhauling transport infrastructure.

“Trains will for two years continue to run through what is a confined construction site in the middle of a busy shopping district, which means the project is not without its challenges.

“Once this work is completed Auckland will be able to run trains anywhere on the network every 10 minutes. Trains will be able to be switch easily and smoothly in any direction. This will provide faster rides and give a major boost to the flexibility and resilience of Auckland's rail network.

Mike Lee thanked commuters and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority for the smooth switch over to the temporary stations.

The Kingdon Street station - very handy to popular Newmarket facilities such as the Olympic Pool, cinema complexes, The Warehouse, restaurants and bars - is likely to prove popular stop for travellers coming from the city and the west.

"If it does prove to be as popular as I'm anticipatin, there may well be public demand in the future to retain this option for western line travellers,” Mr Lee said.

It will take about two years to reconfigure the track so that Auckland’s network is capable of carrying high-frequency trains and to replace turn-of-the-century buildings with a modern station linking to the shopping district. Old mechanical signalling has been replaced by a digital system that can be operated from Auckland, and be backed up from Wellington.

"Once again my thanks to ONTRACK and its workers for achieving another important milestone in the renaissance of Auckland rail.”

ENDS

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