Transport plan to give Manukau a 'heart'

By WAYNE THOMPSON and GREGG WYCHERLEY

An underground railway line and station have been chosen to link the Manukau City Centre with the main trunk line 2km away.

The $40 million rail spur is part of a raft of projects that would make the centre not only visible but also highly accessible, said Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis.

The 30-year-old centre served 350,000 people. That number was growing by 7000 people a year.

A multi-purpose events arena called TelstraSaturn Pacific is to be built beside the city centre at a cost of $54 million.

Sir Barry said this would provide a "heart" for the centre.

The city council hopes to transform it from a retail and business cluster into a place which is alive 24 hours a day with up to 4000 residents in apartments.

The proposed rail station would serve residents, and people going to the city centre for work and recreation. It would also be an interchange for feeder services and any future rapid transit routes for East Tamaki.

Part of the route will follow the proposed $95 million Transit New Zealand project to link the Southern Motorway near the centre and State Highway 20 to Mt Roskill.

Meanwhile a plan for a $1 billion upgrade of Auckland's regionwide rail system has been criticised by the Automobile Association, which says the money would be better spent on improving bus services.

On Friday, a forum of councillors from all the councils of the region agreed to recommend a $1 billion upgrade of the rapid transit network, with light rail in the west, light rail and bus on a central Auckland city link route, and modern conventional rail along the southern lines.

But AA northern regional manager Stephen Selwood said most Aucklanders did not live near a railway station and a rapid bus service was a better option. "It's highly unlikely the rest of NZ will pay for a grandiose rail scheme that will have virtually no impact on congestion."

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