Hobson Bay rail power likely to get a better look

Hobson Bay, Orakei Basin facing South. Photo / Richard Robinson

KiwiRail says it is keen to install the least intrusive type of power lines across Hobson Bay for Auckland's $1 billion electrification project, subject to an engineering feasibility study.

Project director Murray Hood acknowledged last night that designers initially feared double-track portals - likened by local resident Jon Olsen to giant "staples" - may be needed because of difficult ground conditions along the rail causeway through the bay and Orakei Basin.

But he said drilling tests had since indicated the causeway's substrate was likely to be "cohesive" enough to support robust foundations needed for less unsightly cantilever masts, and he hoped for final confirmation of that before Christmas.

That advice has been welcomed by Mr Olsen, a former Auckland City Council member, and new Orakei Local Board chairwoman Desley Simpson, who say they support rail electrification but at the least environmental cost to one of the region's most spectacular landscapes.

They hope for a large turnout at an electrification project open day that KiwiRail and Auckland Transport are hosting at the Newmarket Railway Station on Saturday.

Mr Hood said KiwiRail was keen to install cantilever masts wherever possible, although portal structures were needed at junctions and around freight yards, where there was not enough space between tracks for the masts.

The first of about 3500 masts would appear on the western line and around Newmarket early next year, before arriving on the southern and eastern lines, part of of which runs across Hobson Bay, in 2012.

He said assessing the visual impact of electrification across the network had formed a large part of his project's preliminary work.

Attention had been given to high-amenity public landscapes and areas where homes were close to the rail line.

"We have certainly been paying particular attention to the 4km section of the network around the waterfront through the Orakei Basin."

Mr Hood said electrification would provide environmental benefits for residents, by reducing noise and air pollution.

KiwiRail had concluded that letting the masts weather naturally to a dull grey metallic colour would ensure they were as unobtrusive as possible, except at stations, where they would be painted to match other structures.

The open day at Newmarket Station will be held from 10am until 3pm on Saturday.