The original Huntly 1939 railway station building was vandalised by an arson attack in June 2023. Photo / Supplied
The original Huntly 1939 railway station building was vandalised by an arson attack in June 2023. Photo / Supplied
The costs of repairing Huntly’s arson-gutted heritage railway station have surpassed $500,000 after the Waikato District Council approved extra funding due to delays in “the insurance claiming process”.
According to a council press release, Waikato District Councillors recently approved $222,000 to cover uninsured costs of the project.
The council hadalready claimed $344,081 in costs, the press release said.
“At the time of writing, the council has received a settlement proposal from the loss adjusters for $294,081.”
The council’s press release said the council was still seeking the remaining $50,000 of its claim.
Waikato District Council deputy general manager of service delivery Anthony Averill said the extra funds were needed to cover “cost escalations”, delays while seeking consents from KiwiRail and “some uninsured aspects related to the fire such as holding costs for the builders”.
“The allocation of the extra funding will enable us to deliver the project and complete the building to the white wall interior that had previously been scoped.”
Averill said the council has supplied the extra funding by reallocating costs from a seismic building upgrade project that was no longer required.
“The additional funding means we can press ahead and conclude the project,” Averill said.
Huntly's historic railway station building caught fire in June. Photo / Waikato District Council
The historic building had been sitting at Lake Puketirini since 2008. To transport the building to the Raahui Pookeka Huntly railway station, now an important stop for the Te Huia commuter train service from Waikato to Auckland, it was cut in half and brought to the tracks by truck one piece at a time.
The insurance process began after one section of the building was set ablaze in an act of arson which caused significant damage and delays to the project.
Averill said builders were set to return to the site next week.
“It’s been a long journey to try to rectify the damage made by the fire and move forward with the project. What we’re focused on now are the next steps we need to take to complete the project and the extent of work we can deliver.”
At the time of the fire, the arson was described as a “kick in the guts” by Huntly Ward councillor David Whyte.
Waikato District mayor Jacqui Church said the incident was “horrible”.
“It’s not just a building, it’s a piece of history,” Church said in June.
The relocation of the historic railway building was part of a wider project that has seen the railway station equipped with a new platform, security cameras, lighting, a park-and-ride service, taxi bays, passenger information display boards, and walking and cycling links.
To complement the new and improved station, the historic building will be home to a new museum about the history of one of Aotearoa’s main mining areas.
