New Lynn Railway Station
New Lynn | ||||||||||||||||
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| Auckland Transport Urban rail | ||||||||||||||||
 A train in the new station in 2010. | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Waitakere City | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°54.6′S 174°41.0′E / 36.9100°S 174.6833°E | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | KiwiRail Network and Auckland Transport | |||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Western Line | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | Island platform | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | Mainline (2) | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Platform levels | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Station code | NLY | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1880 | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2008 | |||||||||||||||
| Electrified | 25kV AC[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Traffic | ||||||||||||||||
| Passengers (2009) | 2,565 passengers/day | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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New Lynn Railway Station is on the Western Line of the Auckland railway network, New Zealand, and is part of an integrated transport centre where transfers can be made to and from bus services. A redeveloped station in a new rail trench was opened on 25 September 2010.[2] LynnMall, a major shopping mall, is close by.
History
- 1983, March: The Auckland Regional Authority decided to relocate New Lynn station east, to the other side of the Rankin Avenue-Totara Avenue-Clark Street road intersection and adjacent to the bus station, despite the uncertain future of Auckland suburban services.[3]
- 1987, August: The old station building was demolished after vandals broke in and damaged it.[4]
- 2006, December: Double-tracking between New Lynn and Avondale was approved by the central government; the $120 million package included a 1 km long, 8m deep trench to carry the tracks through the centre of New Lynn and a new double-platform station. Trenching the tracks means that they will no longer pass directly through the Rankin Avenue-Totara Avenue-Clark Street road intersection, removing a source of traffic congestion and the potential for collisions.[5]
- 2008, March: The station platform was demolished and a temporary platform constructed to make way for the rail trench earthworks.
- 2010, 1 March: Trains began running in the trench on a single track.[2]
- 2010, 29 April: The first steam train ran in the trench, Ja 1275 on the Northlander to Whangarei.
- 2010, 8 June: Trains began running through the trench on two tracks, completing the Western Line Double Tracking Project.
- 2010, 24 September: The station was officially opened by the Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand.
- 2012, April-June: The station shelters were transformed and a glass encased stairwell shelter was put into place due to high patronage use.[6]
Rail trench
In the late 2000s, local and regional government, as part of the revitalising of the regional rail commuter network, decided to build a new "feature station" at New Lynn, which included sinking the tracks and station into a trench.[7] Road was grade-separated from rail to enable vehicle traffic to pass over the line.[7] Before the trenching works, the level crossings in the town centre were often blocked by passing trains, leading to substantial road congestion, which would have only increased with more train services.[5]
The new rail trench and associated sunken station were to be constructed with up to 16m deep diaphragm walls using specially imported cranes and specialists. This was required due to the unstable, water-logged soils and the need to avoid settlement damage to close-by buildings. The procedure to construct the 1 km of trench (with finished depth of up to 8m) involved multiple temporary shifts of the railway line and of various associated roads, and was called the most difficult part of the DART railway development programme in Auckland.[8] Wet ground conditions had also forced a redesign of the trench methods, and delayed the project start by six months.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ "Auckland Electrifcation Map" (PDF). KiwiRail. September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 Dearnaley, Mathew (26 February 2010). "Rail-trench opening will ease travel for motorists". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ Rails magazine, April 1983, p.19
- ↑ Rails magazine, September 1987, p.41
- 1 2 Dearnaley, Mathew (20 December 2006). "Rail trench saviour for New Lynn shopping centre". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ↑ Mathew Dearnaley (25 September 2010). "Governor General slams Auckland's traffic congestion". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- 1 2 Major Makeover In Store For New Lynn Rail Station (from the ARTA newsletter, February 2009. Accessed 2009-03-27.)
- ↑ New New Lynn's Look - e.nz magazine, IPENZ, September/October 2008, Page 27-31
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Trench wall panels designed by Auckland artist Louise Purvis and are made from GRC. Research by Purvis and Waitakere City Council Art project Manager Mark Osborne