New station for Newmarket

Yesterday Annette King, Labour's Minister for Transport, was invited to speak at a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of the new train station at Newmarket, turning the first sod.

The total redevelopment of Newmarket station and junction will cost $48 million, including $25 million for the station building and track realignment work at a cost of $23 million. Last week Hawkins Construction won the contract to build the new station.

The new design will include twin platforms in the middle, two elevated concourses and three tracks. Pedestrian facilities will link the station with Remuera Road and adjacent business, retail and local bus stops.

In her speech, Annette King managed to get off her Labour Party soapbox for a few minutes to mention some growth statistics...

The benefits of improving public transport in Auckland are only too clear, with train patronage in the region growing 130 percent over the past four years. In real terms, we are looking at an increase from 2.5 million passengers in 2003 to close to seven million projected by the end of this year.

I've referred to this here previously, but obviously this growth needs to managed carefully to keep existing services efficient and passengers comfortable. Trains are expected to be using the new station in two years, so in the interim I hope timetables are carefully planned to avoid bottlenecks and delays.

I found these computer renderings of what the new station in Newmarket could look like so posted them here... very shiny!