Auckland Transport is closing Westfield train station in March. Photo / Supplied
Auckland Transport is closing Westfield train station in March. Photo / Supplied
Auckland Transport is closing Westfield train station in March on the grounds fewer than 330 people a day use it and it requires costly work to bring it up to standard.
Chief AT Metro Officer Mark Lambert says the station will close on March 12.
"The numbers using the stationare low and it would require significant investment to bring it up to the standard of other stations."
Lambert says forecasts of future patronage indicate that demand is likely to remain low given the location in a light industrial area and new public transport options created in the past few months.
The station is located on the southern line in an area with several large meat processors employing up to 1000 staff, many of whom catch the train to and from work.
Letters and a petition from three companies - Wilson Hellaby, PVL Proteins and Auckland Meat Processors - asked to keep the station when Auckland Transport went out to consult on the proposed closure in 2013. The petition attracted 135 signatures.
If they are wanting public transport to work for Auckland they need to make it easy for people
Richard Hellaby, a spokesman for Wilson Hellaby, which owns Auckland Meat Processors, said the area was set up for people to drive to work when the goal was to reduce congestion.
"When you think about people getting to work the closer the public transport option to their workplace the more likely they are to take it," said Hellaby, who said the Otahuhu station was a decent 10-15 minute walk away.
"If they are wanting public transport to work for Auckland they need to make it easy for people," he said.
PVL Proteins general manager Alan von Tunzelman said he was expecting the closure with the investment in the Otahuhu interchange.
He said a lot of people in the meat industry were in the low-paid, low-skill category with no access to cars, and used the trains.
"The service was never great but with the new trains it is a very good service now. The people who use it find it very useful," von Tunzelman said.
Westfield is a few hundred metres from a brand-new $28 million train and bus interchange at Otahuhu, which opened in October. This was the same month Auckland Transport rolled out a new bus network in South Auckland.
Lambert says other planned improvements in the south include the construction of a new bus station in Mangere Town Centre, the creation of a new transport hub in Manukau and upgrades of Pukekohe, Manurewa and Papakura stations.
There are also bus stops nearby on Great South Road which provide links to a number of places including Otahuhu, Onehunga, Avondale and Britomart.
He says further north, services will begin at the new Parnell Station on March 12.
"This station will serve local Parnell businesses and residents, the universities, Auckland Museum and will be great for events at the Domain."
