Concern Over Route Of Proposed City Rail Tunnel
January 22nd, 2009
Ontrack is being warned against rushing into a costly route protection study for a $1bn to $1.5bn inner Auckland rail tunnel ahead of a strategic assessment of regional passenger needs. Auckland Regional Council member, Joel Cayford, says tender documentation for the $5m study emphasises too strongly tunnel beneath Albert St to Mt Eden without due regard to large traffic generators such as the university and hospital quarters.
More terminal stations. Cayford agrees with Ontrack the priority must be an underground station near Aotea Square – with a greater potential passenger turnover than Britomart. However, instead of starting with a link from Britomart to a proposed Aotea station, which Ontrack expects will be 18 metres below Albert St, he says consideration should be given to tunnelling to the square from Parnell, via the Domain. This would provide two terminal stations initially, overcoming capacity problems at Britomart while letting links be added later through Aotea Square to the North Shore and Mt Eden.
Alternatives ignored. Although no date has been set for construction, Ontrack expects it to be before 2020, as Britomart will reach its capacity by then. But Dr Cayford says the documentation appears to leave little room for any alternative, being more concerned about addressing the geotechnical challenges of a Britomart-Mt Eden route. Cayford says it is disturbing the Auckland Regional Policy Statement, which embodies a legal requirement to tie together transport and land use planning, is not mentioned in the tender documentation.
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