New signals

New signals for the new Westcad MkIII singalling system have started popping up around the station.

One of the new signals next to the present signal

Two of the new signals at the north end of the station

These signals will come into use when the new signalling system comes to Papakura during Queen's Birthday weekend. The new system will also see the introduction of pedestrian crossing alarms and lights at Tironui and Takanini.

Power Failure: All Trains Stop

Following hot on the heels of Monday's rant comes a major failure of the Auckland rail network. However, today's failure could not have been prevented and there was no way to run trains anywhere.

Rant - feel free to skip over this

Today's delays have caused several of my Facebook friends to complain about the "poor" service Veolia provide, and that the fare increases aren't worth it. Unfortunately fare increases are a fact of life on many public transport systems worldwide, from Japan's excellent network to Australia's frequently poor networks.

23 April - updates and delays

With not much happening at the moment I took the opportunity to photograph the new stabling yard connection with nothing in the way.

The stabling yard connection viewed from the footbridge. Note the temporary building on the end of the east "siding"

The connection to the mainline and the runaway siding, which derails runaway trains

Unfortunately this morning wasn't of the not-much-happening variety. With a reported signal failure at Britomart and a cyclist at Baldwin Ave hit by a train*, services were all over the place. At least one train was cancelled to Pukekohe because it wouldn't have made it back to Papakura in time for the 10:05, and what I observed to be the train that was supposed to form the 9:35 (a six-car set) didn't arrive until around 10. As I type things seem to be getting back to normal, as the 10:05 did depart Papakura on time - the use of spare trains at Papakura did help with this.

*As a side note (picked up by William McGrath - cheers), the Herald loves to mention "thousands of commuters" when trains are delayed, yet these commuters don't seem to be a factor in the CBD rail link articles.

Temporary parking

With the new staff room having been built on what used to be secure carparking space, Auckland Transport is hoping to provide additional parking spaces to offset this loss. Temporary parking will be located on Railway Street West and hoped to be available soon.

Auckland Transport is to provide additional temporary Park and Ride car parking at the Papakura train station while the station is being upgraded.
The additional spaces are located on Railway Street West adjacent to the station entry and Auckland Transport hopes to make these available at the end of April. It is a temporary arrangement until construction at the station including expansion of the existing park and ride area is completed by Easter 2013.
Security at the existing Ron Keat Drive Park and Ride will also cover the temporary area.
The Papakura Local Board has been working with Auckland Transport advocating for the temporary car park spaces and is pleased to see progress on their request. Papakura Local Board transport spokesperson Brent Catchpole welcomes the additional car park spaces which will relieve the pressure on Ron Keat Drive and surrounding streets.
"The expanded security will provide a safer environment for rail passengers leaving their cars in the park and ride area."
Auckland Transport is upgrading the station and rail yard to improve passenger experience and transport efficiency. The upgrade will also allow the station to meet future patronage growth and modernise existing platform amenities.
At the same time, KiwiRail are undertaking a re-arrangement of the tracks to provide a dedicated freight line through the station, and optimizing track and platform layout in preparation for electrification
Features of the station upgrade include; additional platform canopies, CCTV, lighting, public toilets, new ticket office, enlarged park and ride area and dedicated freight line.
The temporary parking spaces will be reviewed by Auckland Transport once the upgrade is completed.

Good to see Auckland Transport making up for this loss in parking, although improvements to feeder buses would also be helpful.

April 9, 2012

Over the Easter weekend, the first major visible change at Papakura had begun to take shape, in the form of the reconfiguration of the north section of east loop and stabling yard, and the realignment of the Down main (southbound track).

A ballast train sits on the realigned Down main during an Easter shutdown. The east loop is now simply a siding that terminates (for now), and the stabling yard tracks now connect directly to the mainline

Eventually, the east loop will become a third main through the station for freight trains to use, and the current Down main will connect to this.

Work had also been done on the crossovers (which allow trains to switch from one track to another) north of the station.

A freight train waits to enter the worksite as men stand clear of crossover work

Here, the two existing crossovers are being removed, with the two new crossovers being completed and commissioned.

Stay tuned for another update when things change again.

Papakura Station: Before

Before anything was done to the railway station, here's what it looked like (taken in June 2009):

Papakura station in June 2009

What's not shown here is that the stabling yard joins up with the east loop before connecting to the mainline, and the two crossovers on the other side of the bridge. Since this photo was taken a new bridge has been built over the railway, replacing the previous bridge on Clevedon Road.

Papakura Station: Following the Redevelopment

Papakura's railway station is currently under redevelopment as part of the Auckland suburban electrification project. The station is currently Auckland's third busiest after Newmarket and Britomart, and in the future will be responsible for transferring passengers from diesel shuttle trains from Pukekohe to electric trains to take these passengers further north. To enable these transfers, Papakura station is receiving a major overhaul and an additional platform.

The plan for Papakura station before redevelopment began (click to enlarge)

How Papakura station is expected to be laid out when redevelopment is complete (click to enlarge)

This redevelopment is already under way. The new staffroom is built and is nearly complete. Reconfiguration of the north crossovers and the north side of the stabling yard has taken place. A longer backshunt is under construction at the south end of the station. It is expected that the next stage will see the far west loop and the Platform 3 track lifted and Platform 3 to be extended closer to the island platform, and a dock platform built for trains from the south. This blog will follow redevelopment of the station as significant changes happen.

Papakura station is undergoing some exciting changes; although nowhere near the scale of Newmarket and New Lynn, these changes still impact on commuters. So sit back and enjoy. :)