Rethink on pre-Xmas rail shutdown

The timing of the closure was to ensure new tracks would be in place in time for the Big Day Out festival at Mt Smart on Friday, January 20. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland Transport is rethinking a plan which would disrupt commuter trains in the busy pre-Christmas week, after being challenged about alleged preferential treatment for Big Day Out concert-goers.

The council organisation has approved a month-long closure of the line between Britomart and Newmarket, starting in the week before Christmas, so KiwiRail can lower tracks for a new station to be built at Parnell.

Its timing is to ensure the new duplicate tracks will be in place in time for it to run trains to the annual Big Day Out festival at Mt Smart on Friday, January 20.

But the plan to bring forward the traditional annual rail shutdown by a week has Auckland Council transport chairman Mike Lee questioning the transport subsidiary's priorities.

"It seems to be putting the needs of those who have to get to venues [commuters to their workplaces] below those who just want to get to a venue [for the Big Day Out]," he said.

"We owe loyalty to our regular western line working commuters - they should come first."

Mr Lee, who is an Auckland Transport board member, said he was all in favour of an early start on preparations for a Parnell railway station.

But he wondered why trains to the Big Day Out could not be re-routed around the eastern railway line via Glen Innes to Westfield, and then double back a short distance to Penrose.

That would allow the Parnell work, and hence the shutdown of the Britomart-Newmarket railway link with its major disruption to services including all western line trains, to be delayed until Christmas.

Auckland Transport communications manager Wally Thomas said Mr Lee's idea was being considered, as well as a possibility of using rail replacement buses for the festival-goers.

"We are looking at all options to accommodate the huge crowd that uses trains for the Big Day Out," he said.

"But our absolute priority is always to regular commuters and we are working to minimise disruption to them. That may indeed involve utilising the eastern loop."

About a kilometre of duplicate railway tracks need to be lowered for the new Parnell station to fit in with KiwiRail's $500 million electrification project.

Although Auckland Transport has yet to gain funding approval of up to $15.2 million to build the station in the gully below Cheshire St, it has asked KiwiRail to clear the way in the meantime.

Mr Thomas said the organisation hoped to have the new station open before Auckland's first generation of electric trains starts arriving in 2013.

It expected the station, which it hopes will serve university students and visitors to Auckland Museum as well as employees and patrons of Parnell businesses, to host more than 1600 rail passengers in morning peak periods by 2016.