The City Rail Link will be open in just under two weeks – September 13 is D-Day.
A map of Western Line rail level crossings from Auckland Transport, as consultation kicks off on a crossing removal programme.
“We’re doing the planning work now to be ready for growing passenger numbers, which are expected to require more frequent trains in the mid-2030s from Mount Albert towards the city centre,” AT head of level crossings Tom Willetts said.
“If these crossings are not replaced, they will become a constraint on rail services or result in more frequent barrier arm closures, longer delays and increased safety risks for everyone crossing the tracks.”
Traffic on lines in Auckland’s inner west will increase to 12 trains per hour before the City Rail Link and then 24 trains per hour (both directions) sometime between 2031 and 2041.
“We are looking at how it might impact communities, how it might benefit them, what we need to consider in terms of the delivery process and how it might impact them once it was in operation. We can consider all that as part of deciding on what the preferred option is going to be,” Willetts said.
The level crossings run from Kingsland to Mt Albert, as part of a wider programme to separate rail lines from vehicles and pedestrians.
Depending on the location and community feedback, the options will include new road or pedestrian bridges, underpasses or closing the crossing with an improved alternative route.
Auckland Transport head of level crossings Tom Willetts at the Morningside Train Station. Photo / Jason Dorday
“We have learned a lot of lessons from City Rail Link, as well as other major projects such as Eastern Busway. The lessons that we’ve learned are that we need to engage early, we need to keep up continual communication with the communities and really understand how businesses, communities, residents work and how the community operates,” Willetts told the Herald.
“We have a contractor on board for the Southern station, so we were able to build in thinking earlier on in the design process so that we can come up with designs that minimise disruption as much as possible.”
Willetts said options such as offsite or precast construction would be considered in order to minimise disruption as much as possible.
Asked if that could mean compensation for businesses, Willetts said that would have to be worked through with partners, such as Auckland Council.
“It will depend on the impacts of the proposed options, but we will focus on reducing the impact through mitigation during the construction process.”
Morningside is one of the busiest precincts in the plan.
The level crossing at the Morningside Train Station. Photo / Jason Dorday
There are already parking issues in the streets around the station, heavy traffic and a mix of homes and businesses.
The crossing has one of the highest safety incident rates with 53 crashes and near misses in the last 10 years.
Alongside long-term rail level crossing solutions, AT is investigating some minor traffic and safety improvements in the Morningside area.
The options being looked at for that crossing are a pedestrian bridge, a road bridge, or a mix of both.
Other areas, such as around the Baldwin Ave station in Mt Albert, are heavily residential and are used by a large number of primary and secondary school students.
“We need to understand whether it’s business-oriented or whether it’s residential, and that will help influence how we deliver the programme, whether we choose for short, sharp hits or whether we choose for night works and when we plan to undertake those noisy works,” Willetts said.
The area is very likely to intensify with changes to planning rules and planned developments in the surrounding area, meaning significant traffic growth and more congestion and delays.
The removal of crossings is seen as critical to maximise the benefits of the City Rail Link.
“It’s something that’s been known for some time and we’ve taken a staged delivery approach to meet demand, and funding arrangements.
“Our initial focus is the inner west, but we’ll also be looking at what options might be needed on the outer west in line with when train frequencies are expected to increase. It’s a very long-term programme.”
The crossings on the line to Henderson and then further out to Swanson will be the next stages, although those are still many years away.
Former Auckland Mayor Len Brown, who helped kick the City Rail Link into gear, said not including the crossing removal into the project at the start was one of his biggest regrets.
The Government announced yesterday it was scrapping the planned fuel hike for January 2027, citing cost-of-living pressures.
That will put a dent in the transport funding budget.
Sixteen rail level crossings have been closed or replaced during the past decade, including three new pedestrian bridges in the past year at the Glen Innes, Te Mahi and Takanini stations.
The investment case for western rail crossing replacements will be developed during the next two years. It will identify the preferred approach and how to prioritise when they’re built to be ready for funding decisions.
The six crossings are at Woodward Road, Baldwin Ave, Rossgrove Tce, Asquith Ave, Morningside Dr and George St.
Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.