New Lynn railway station

New Lynn
Auckland Transport Urban rail
A train in the new station in 2010.
Location New Lynn
Coordinates 36°54.6′S 174°41.0′E / 36.9100°S 174.6833°E / -36.9100; 174.6833
Owned by KiwiRail (track and platforms)
Auckland Transport (buildings)
Line(s) Western Line
Platforms Island platform
Tracks Mainline (2)
Construction
Platform levels 1
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
Other information
Station code NLY
History
Opened 1880
Rebuilt 2008
Electrified 25kV AC[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2009) 2,565 passengers/day
Services
Preceding station   Auckland Transport (Transdev)   Following station
toward Britomart
Western Line
toward Swanson
Wall panels in the trench are to evoke both land contours and clay works / pottery heritage of the New Lynn area.

New Lynn railway station is on the Western Line of the Auckland railway network, New Zealand, and is part of an integrated transport centre where transfers can be made to and from bus services. A redeveloped station in a new rail trench was opened on 25 September 2010.[2] LynnMall, a major shopping mall, is close by.

History

  • 1983, March: The Auckland Regional Authority decides to relocate New Lynn station east, to the other side of the Rankin Avenue-Totara Avenue-Clark Street road intersection and adjacent to the bus station, despite the uncertain future of Auckland suburban services.[3]
  • 1987, August: The old station building is demolished after vandals broke in and damaged it.[4]
  • 2006, December: Double-tracking between New Lynn and Avondale is approved by the central government; the $120 million package includes a 1 km long, 8m deep trench to carry the tracks, and a new station with below-ground platforms. Trenching the tracks means that they will no longer pass directly through the Rankin Avenue-Totara Avenue-Clark Street road intersection, removing a source of traffic congestion and the potential for collisions.[5]
  • 2008, March: The station platform is demolished and a temporary platform constructed to make way for the rail trench earthworks.
  • 2010, 1 March: Trains begin running in the trench on a single track.[2]
  • 2010, 29 April: The first steam train runs in the trench, Ja 1275 on the Northlander to Whangarei.
  • 2010, 8 June: Trains begin running through the trench on two tracks, completing the Western Line Double Tracking Project.
  • 2010, 24 September: The station is officially opened by the Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand.
  • 2012, April-June: The station shelters are transformed and a glass encased stairwell shelter is put into place due to high patronage use.[6]

Rail trench

In the late 2000s, local and regional government, as part of the revitalising of the regional rail commuter network, decided to build a new "feature station" at New Lynn, which included sinking the tracks and station into a trench.[7] Road was grade-separated from rail to enable vehicle traffic to pass over the line.[7] Before the trenching works, the level crossings in the town centre were often blocked by passing trains, leading to substantial road congestion, which would have only increased with more train services.[5]

The new rail trench and associated sunken station were to be constructed with up to 16m deep diaphragm walls using specially imported cranes and specialists. This was required due to the unstable, water-logged soils and the need to avoid settlement damage to close-by buildings. The procedure to construct the 1 km of trench (with finished depth of up to 8m) involved multiple temporary shifts of the railway line and of various associated roads, and was called the most difficult part of the DART railway development programme in Auckland.[8] Wet ground conditions had also forced a redesign of the trench methods, and delayed the project start by six months.[2]

Services

Bus routes 14T, 14W, 18, 22N, 24B, 24R, 68, 107, 138, 151x, 152, 154, 161, 162, 170, 171, 171x, 172, 172x, 186, 195 and 670 travel via the bus-train interchange at New Lynn, directly adjacent to the station.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Auckland Electrifcation Map" (PDF). KiwiRail. September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Dearnaley, Mathew (26 February 2010). "Rail-trench opening will ease travel for motorists". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  3. ↑ Rails magazine, April 1983, p.19
  4. ↑ Rails magazine, September 1987, p.41
  5. 1 2 Dearnaley, Mathew (20 December 2006). "Rail trench saviour for New Lynn shopping centre". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  6. ↑ Mathew Dearnaley (25 September 2010). "Governor General slams Auckland's traffic congestion". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  7. 1 2 Major Makeover In Store For New Lynn Rail Station (from the ARTA newsletter, February 2009. Accessed 2009-03-27.)
  8. ↑ New New Lynn's Look - e.nz magazine, IPENZ, September/October 2008, Page 27-31
  9. ↑ "Western Guide – from 11 June 2017" (PDF). Auckland Transport. Retrieved 18 June 2017.

Trench wall panels designed by Auckland artist Louise Purvis and are made from GRC. Research by Purvis and Waitakere City Council Art project Manager Mark Osborne

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