Ontrack could fast-track Sylvia Park station

Government rail agency Ontrack may hasten construction of a train station at Sylvia Park in Auckland to ease traffic headaches around the country's biggest shopping mall.

Mega-mall developer Kiwi Income Property Trust said yesterday that it had set aside the $5 million needed to build the new station as a condition of its resource consent, and Ontrack indicated last night that this meant it may be able to accelerate the project.

"The answer is a qualified yes, but we can't quickly put a time-frame on it," Ontrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw told the Herald.

Mr Ramshaw's positive indication followed concern expressed earlier in the day by Auckland Regional Council members at advice that it may take another 12 months to build the station next to the mall, where opening specials caused traffic mayhem on the Southern Motorway last week.

"It's laughable - this is an outrageous situation," transport committee chairman Joel Cayford said after receiving that time estimate from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, a council subsidiary which contracts passenger rail services.

Councillor Dianne Glenn said the station should have opened ahead of the $388 million mall, and the traffic crisis was one of two "catastrophes" to have hit Auckland lately.

Transport authority chief Alan Thompson said the mall was being developed in stages under a resource consent issued three years ago by the Auckland City Council, which includes a requirement for Kiwi Income Property Trust to pay for the station.

Kiwi must complete the station, including covered walkways to the mall, before adding more than 6300sq m of floor space to its existing 22,700sq m occupied by 57 shops, including a Foodtown supermarket and The Warehouse's largest store.