Train tribulations test Newmarket

Around 10pm, when Harold Coop is ready to call it a day, he lies in his bed without going to sleep. He knows that, at 10.30pm and 11pm, the sound of a train horn will blast through the walls of his apartment.

The artist and retired eye surgeon lives beside Newmarket railway station. He says when he and his wife, Gillian, looked at the property five years ago, work was being carried out on the line and the horns were turned off. The racket started a month after the couple moved in and has been going ever since.

KiwiRail's "routine horn use policy" requires train drivers to sound horns every time they enter and leave a station or approach a level crossing. At other times it's drivers' responsibility to warn people a train is on the track.

The earliest train arrives at Newmarket at 5.35am on weekdays and the last leaves at 12.45am on Fridays and Saturdays. Scores of trains pass through Auckland's second busiest train station every day.

"It's a high-pitched noise and it's very penetrating. It can be heard from as far away as Mt Hobson. Getting woken up up at 5.30am is a pain in the neck," says Dr Coop.

He's a Newmarket Community Association member and says the group has been lobbying to get the horns limited to emergencies only.  Brisbane, Sydney and Wellington don't have "routine horn use", he says; the UK's Rail Safety and Standards Board confirms it stopped the practice at least 30 years ago.

"Aucklanders should have just as much consideration," Dr Coop says.

There are around 900 bedrooms within 50 to 100m of the station and a new retirement home is being built beside the line. Dr Coop says students, shift workers and older people who are driving the next day need adequate sleep.

"There's widespread concern and a number of emails have been received, although some residents are reluctant to speak out in case the value of their property drops."

KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, train operator Veolia and Auckland Council have been approached about these concerns, and asked to limit loudspeakers to special announcements, and use visual displays for routine matters. Repeated announcements from loudspeakers on the station's roof are beamed, at high volume, into the apartments.

Nearby Sarawia St crossing is also in the association's sights. It has the highest train count in the country. The crossing is the only way for residents of Laxon Tce, on the edge of Newmarket Park, to get in and out of their cul de sac. Dr Coop says cars frequently weave around barrier arms when they're lowered, to beat trains over the crossing, and bells ring for up to 20 minutes of every hour, even when no train is visible.

"They are supposed to start 10 seconds before a train arrives but continue unnecessarily while a train is passing, when people have stopped and are aware, and keep going after the train has disappeared down the track."

In France, he says, bells stop as soon as the arms reach the bottom.

The association suggests a cone-shaped bell cover to deflect noise downwards, a notice with warning lights on Sarawia St before and after the crossing, two extra lowering arms and a rethink on bell timings.

It wrote to KiwiRail and other agencies for over a year but was invited to a joint meeting only two months ago. Dr Coop says the meeting was positive and some improvements have been planned.

KiwiRail's Jenni Austin says the horn policy has built up over time in Auckland. It is no longer used in Wellington because their trains have a better way of communicating. She would not elaborate.

"We acknowledged to members of the association last year there was merit in reviewing horn usage here in New Zealand and commissioned a study of practices in other countries so we could benchmark our policies. That study was completed earlier this year."

Both KiwiRail and Veolia support changing the rules. "There is a process to be followed, including consultation with unions as required by the Railways Act, and this process will take several months to complete," Ms Austin says.

KiwiRail is aware of "frustrations" over Sarawia St but Ms Austin says these issues are the symptoms of an increasingly popular commuter rail service. The crossing is the most complex in the country from an operational and timing perspective.

"At present the crossing can be closed for around 30 per cent of the time during a two-hour peak period. Increasing train frequencies withfurther timetable improvements will only exacerbate this situation. Disruption to the community needed to be balanced against safety measures.

"We have already reduced the sound level of bells at the crossing to the minimum and are now looking at the option of reducing the duration of the bells so they do not ring once all trains have passed and the barrier arms begin to rise."

Ms Austin says the ideal solution is to close the crossing. KiwiRail and Auckland Transport are exploring an alternative road route into Laxon Tce.

Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan says investigations around the crossing are "ongoing". On noise, he says: "Newmarket station has been in continual use since 1873 and railway operations are an inherently noisy activity."

Limiting use of loudspeakers could discriminate against visually impaired passengers, he says, but Dr Coop suggests supplying a small booth to cater for them - and give the neighbours' peace of mind.

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