Newmarket fears rugby-cup trains will bypass station

Newmarket restaurateurs and bar owners fear trains will bypass their new $35 million railway station on the way to and from Rugby World Cup matches at Eden Park.

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority says it has yet to make decisions on operating patterns and plans for matches, for which it hopes to provide trains for up to 16,500 spectators.

But Newmarket Business Association chief executive Cameron Brewer said yesterday that rail sources had told him nonstop trains between Britomart and the park for at least the final four marches of the 2011 tournament would leave his members in the cold.

He feared transport planners had "rolled over too easy" under a demand from the International Rugby Board for fast and frequent direct services from Britomart to Eden Park.

He said Newmarket was the region's biggest station and should be a stop.

But authority spokeswoman Sharon Hunter said the organisation was still conducting modelling research "to determine the best rail patterns" and she made no comment about Newmarket.