Upper Symonds St joins rail station plan

Underground station sites being considered for a $1 billion-$1.5 billion central Auckland rail tunnel have been extended to upper Symonds St.

Consultants conducting a $5 million investigation study for KiwiRail and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority for a 3.5km tunnel between Britomart and Mt Eden believe three new stations should be built to maximise patronage and rail access to the inner city.

Albert St-Mayoral Drive and Karangahape Rd have been proposed locations for some time for the other two stations, but Symonds St is identified in a progress report as a major catchment for rail passengers.

The consultants have shortlisted two almost identical sites, both reaching between the intersections of Symonds St with Khyber Pass Rd and Mt Eden Rd but at slightly different angles, depending on the eventual tunnel alignment.

They are also considering a pair of options for each of the other two train stops along the tunnel, which would also turn Britomart into a through station on an inner-city rail loop.

That would almost double Britomart's capacity, which is expected otherwise to become constrained by 2020, and give western line passengers a more direct link to downtown Auckland than through Newmarket.

A new Aotea Station, either under the southern end of Albert St or across the Wellesley St intersection under Mayoral Drive, would potentially be busier than Britomart - putting passengers within easy walking range of more shops, offices and classes.

The two options for Karangahape Rd are either beneath its intersection with Pitt St or near the top of Queen St.

But the allure of Queen St may be offset by a need for a shallower site there, and its proximity to potentially unstable land at the top of Myers Park.

The consultants say more investigation would be needed to predict the impact of a station at that site, particularly on the park and St Kevins Arcade.

At first 14 tunnel alignment options were considered, most following a route from Britomart to upper Vincent St before taking varying courses under Spaghetti Junction and Newton on their way to the western line.

One major variation, which did not make a shortlist of three, was for a tunnel swerving beneath Fanshawe St and Nelson St before running under Wellesley St to Symonds St.

Although that would have taken trains close to Auckland University, it would have made the tunnel far more circuitous than the other options.

Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee, whose organisation has been briefed on the progress report, said last night that building a station at the top end of Symonds St was an excellent idea which would boost urban renewal in what was already "a wonderful funky area of the city that has a lot of atmosphere".

The latest report has refrained from narrowing down the cost estimate for a project expected to exceed that of the $1 billion rail electrification project.

A KiwiRail spokeswoman said that was unlikely before the preferred line was chosen by the end of the year, when her organisation intends seeking a land designation to protect the route.

The tunnel is expected to take seven to 10 years to design and build.

It has strong support from Auckland City Mayor John Banks and Manukau Mayor Len Brown, rivals for the Super City leadership who were annoyed when Transport Minister Stephen Joyce said in October that he remained far from convinced about the need for the tunnel.

Although a cost-benefit analysis has yet to be undertaken, the regional transport authority predicts an inner-city rail loop would make downtown Auckland accessible to 370,000 people on train trips of 30 minutes or under.

The latest report from the consultants - a consortium of AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Beca - expects the tunnel will make "a critical contribution in lifting the entire region's and country's economic performance".