Media Release

Grand opening of the new Kingsland Rail Station

The newly constructed Kingsland Rail Station which cost $4 million to upgrade, will be officially opened to the public by Prime Minister Helen Clark on Saturday 21 May 2005.

Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) General Manager – Rail, Elena Trout, says both ARTA and the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) will unveil the new station and, at the same time, celebrate the completion of first stage of the Western Line double tracking project.

“The improvements at Kingsland Station include two new platforms long enough to accommodate future new trains, a pedestrian overbridge and lift, shelters and signage. The lift will be available for use by disabled people, those people in wheelchairs and parents with children in pushchairs,” she says.

Ms Trout says that with the upcoming Lions Tour, there is expected to be a large increase in the number of passengers using trains and buses to attend rugby games at Eden Park, as access to nearby residential streets will be restricted.

“The new Kingsland station will play a key role in delivering passengers to within walking distance of Eden Park,” she says.

The completion of Kingsland Station and the first stage of the double tracking project marks a major step forward for rail transportation in the Auckland region. It includes double tracking the rail line between Boston Road in Mt Eden and New North Road in Morningside.

“Double tracking allows trains to travel in opposite directions at the same time and helps to avoid peak hour bottlenecks. The entire line between Mt Eden and Swanson is to be double tracked by 2008 which will allow for 10 minute intervals between trains during peak hours,” says Ms Trout.

A new train timetable was introduced in February with increased morning and evening peak services along the Western Line by providing ‘short-running’ trains between New Lynn and Britomart.

“The new services are being very well received by passengers who use trains for their transportation needs,” she says.

A total of 391,000 passenger journeys were made on the Auckland rail network in March. This was a record for any month in recent history, even though Easter fell within that month. Ticket sales for April indicated that approximately 370,000 passenger journeys were made, which is an increase of 37% over the same period in 2004.

ARTA is proceeding with the detailed design of the next stage of the Western Line double tracking, from New Lynn to Henderson, and hopes to commence construction within the next three months.

ENDS

ARTA is responsible for the integrated planning, funding and implementation of all modes of public transport throughout the Auckland region.

ARTA is part of the Auckland Regional Council’s family of organisations.

Auckland Regional Transport Authority www.arta.govt.nz

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