Station to be named Grafton

A new rail station on Auckland's western line should be called Grafton rather than Khyber Pass, the Geographic Board has ruled.

The decision overrules the Newmarket Business Association's request and sides with the Grafton Residents' Association and the City Council's transport committee.

However, the public will have three months to register support or opposition after the name has been gazetted next month as the board's preference.

The association's general manager Cameron Brewer said yesterday his organisation had gathered enormous support for it to be called Khyber Pass.

"We won't be appealing the proposed name [Grafton], but we encourage anyone who doesn't like it to do just that."

The association previously wanted the station, on Park Rd, to be called Newmarket West before settling on Khyber Pass.

Grafton Residents' Association chairman David Haigh said Park Rd had long been part of his suburb, and most passengers arriving at the new station would be headed for destinations within it, such as Auckland City Hospital and the Domain.

Mr Brewer said of the defeat that his organisation was more interested in having a potential construction funding shortfall sorted out, and ensuring the new station was completed by next March, as a replacement for the Boston Rd train stop outside Mt Eden Prison.

Although KiwiRail subsidiary Ontrack has enough money to build platforms and access facilities for the new station, as part of the Government's $600 million basic upgrade of Auckland's rail network, uncertainty has emerged over funding for station buildings.

The Government has, in deciding to abort an Auckland regional fuel tax of up to 9.5c a litre by 2011, promised it will foot the full bill for rail electrification and that the Transport Agency will give urgent consideration to requests for extra subsidies for stations and other public transport infrastructure.

But the Auckland Regional Council, having identified a $202 million funding shortfall without the fuel tax, says it has been forced to produce a new budget assuming the surrender of all its trains and railway stations except for Britomart - which Auckland City owns - to the Government through KiwiRail.