'Lost' rail track raises connection questions

Rail officials preparing to open a gleaming new station in a $100 million upgrade of the Newmarket junction are being accused of skimping on its track connections.

KiwiRail has acknowledged that it has dropped from its original concept design a direct connection between the western line and one of three tracks running through the station, saying that it would be surplus to requirements.

Yet it has confirmed laying a concrete pad for such a connection to "future-proof" its $65 million reconfiguration of the critical railway junction, which is just to the north of the station.

Western trains will share a single line across the junction, although that splits into two tracks through the station, leaving the third track for the exclusive use of services to Papakura or Onehunga.

The junction has been reconfigured in conjunction with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority's $35 million construction of the station, which Transport Minister Steven Joyce will formally open on Thursday, before trains start using it next Monday.

KiwiRail says that as it gained a better understanding of the transport authority's timetable needs for passenger services, it decided a third rail link between the station and the western line was not required on any day-to-day basis.

"It was determined that this link was a 'nice to have' as opposed to a 'need to have' as there are enough alternative traffic routes through the junction without it," a spokeswoman said.

The state-owned corporation's decision to drop the link was disclosed in a Campaign for Better Transport online discussion forum rather than its own project website, which incorrectly shows the original plan.

It follows KiwiRail's controversial demolition over Christmas - under instructions from the regional transport authority - of a temporary railway station in Newmarket's Kingdon St, near the start of the western line.

Under a heading "the great Newmarket stuff-up", a transport-forum contributor questioned the provision of a double-track, direct connection between Britomart and the western line in the absence of the Kingdon St station, while the third link into the station had been omitted.

He claimed KiwiRail was providing "extra tracks where they are not needed and not enough tracks where they are".

Campaign for Better Transport co-ordinator Cameron Pitches said yesterday he hoped the missing link would not affect timetables, but would reserve judgment while seeing how the new configuration panned out.

But Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee, still fuming over losing a fight with the council's transport subsidiary to save the Kingdon St station, said the Newmarket junction was meant to be "completely flexible" and passengers were being short-changed.

"It was meant to move trains every which way," he said.

A rail employee who complained to Mr Lee about the plan change told the Herald that although the new configuration might work satisfactorily under normal conditions, the lack of the third connection would deprive Newmarket of maximum flexibility needed to avoid delays when track points failed or trains broke down.

"The problem in Auckland is that as soon as something goes wrong, then it just all goes to pieces," he said.

Mr Lee questioned KiwiRail's claim that it was "future proofing" the junction by laying a concrete pad in case the extra connection may some day be needed.

"Others might say it's trimming back on the job," he said. "They are not future-proofing Newmarket - they've actually destroyed future options and weakened Newmarket's resilience by demolishing Kingdon St."

KiwiRail network operations manager Carl Mills said he could not envisage any operating scenarios where the third link would be necessary, but if tracks should ever have to be added for any unforeseen reason, the provision of the pad meant that could be achieved without undue disruption to the rail network.

Despite the demolition of the Kingdon St station, which was always planned, the double-track, direct connection between Britomart and the western line had been needed to allow temporary services during the Newmarket construction and would continue to be used by freight trains travelling between Northland and Auckland's port.

"It's always nice to have lots of things, but it comes down to value and economy," Mr Mills said of the missing connection with Newmarket Station.

"I don't see this as a case where it's going to limit operations at all."

NEWMARKET RAIL UPGRADE

Total cost $100 million:
* $35 million for new station (cost to Auckland Regional Transport Authority).
* $65 million for reconfigured rail junction (cost to KiwiRail).