Maungawhau railway station

Maungawhau railway station, commonly known as Mount Eden railway station, is a Western Line station of the Auckland railway network in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden in New Zealand. The station has been closed since 2020 and is currently undergoing an extensive reconstruction as part of the wider work on the City Rail Link. The station is due to reopen to the public in early 2026.

Maungawhau
Auckland Transport urban rail
The view of the former Mt Eden station from the western end of its platform.
General information
LocationMount Eden, Auckland
Coordinates36.868056°S 174.759291°E / -36.868056; 174.759291
Owned byKiwiRail (track and platforms)
Auckland Transport (buildings)
Line(s)Western Line
PlatformsIsland platform and Side platforms
TracksMainline (2)
Construction
Platform levels2
ParkingNo
Bicycle facilitiesNo
Other information
Station codeMTD[1]
WebsiteAuckland Transport
History
Opened1880[2]
Closed11 July 2020
Rebuilt2020 to 2024
Electrified25 kV AC[3]
Passengers
20141,018 passengers/day Increase 9.7%
Services
Preceding station Auckland Transport
(Auckland One Rail)		 Following station
Grafton
towards Britomart
 Western Line Kingsland
towards Swanson

The reconstruction work is adding two side platforms on the City Rail Link line toward Karanga-a-Hape railway station in addition to the island platform on the line towards Grafton station. The station was reached via a footbridge from Mount Eden Road or from the level crossing between Ngahura Street and Fenton Street.

History
  • 1880: Opened as one of the original stations on the North Auckland Line.[2][4]
  • 1912: The present island platform and a new station building were constructed.[4]
  • 1914: A signal box was established.[4]
  • 1964: Lost much school traffic when some trains began to stop at St Peter's College (at the now closed Boston Road station and its replacement, the nearby Grafton station).
  • 1967: Following the introduction of centralised traffic control, the signal box was removed.[4]
  • Mid-1990s: The old station building was sold and removed, and is now located further up the track, past Morningside station, and is in use as a private home.[4]
  • 2004: An upgraded station was opened.
  • 2019: An announcement that the station will be closed for four years from June 2020 for improvement as part of work for the City Rail Link starts.[5][6]
  • 2020: Following a delay caused by the COVID-19 lockdown,[7] Mt Eden Station closed on 11 July[8]
  • 2023:The name of the station was officially changed from Mount Eden Station to Maungawhau Railway Station[9]

Auckland Transport (AT) changed their City Rail Link plans by removing the proposed Newton station and instead adding another platform at Mount Eden with a trench-styled layout similar to New Lynn railway station. The benefit, according to the Mayor of Auckland Len Brown, was a saving of NZD$150 million.[10] AT chairman Lester Levy said that there had been concerted effort to optimise the design and reduce construction cost. "The change that has resulted from this focus will reduce cost by removing the very deep Newton station, which will also reduce construction disruption in upper Symonds St by 12 to 18 months. The improved design will connect passengers at Mt Eden Station to the CRL which previously bypassed them and improve operation reliability through the provision of a separated east-west junction so train lines won’t need to cross over each other." Levy said the changes also will result in an improved customer experience with the CRL platform at Mount Eden to be built in a trench similar to the New Lynn station, and be open to the sky, rather than deep underground as was the case for the proposed Newton station location. This open air location and the separated train junction will also lower operating costs.[11]

To allow the CRL to connect to the west toward Swanson and to the east toward Newmarket, Mount Eden station closed on 11 July 2020.[12][13] The Western Line was realigned between Dominion Road and Mount Eden Prison, with consequent changes to overhead line and signalling systems.[14]

In October 2019, demolition of 30 buildings in the station vicinity commenced. This first of three phases of demolition was expected to be completed in March 2020.[15] The new station is currently under construction and is due to open in 2026.[12][16]

Bus transfers

Maungawhau Station is serviced by routes 64, 25B, 25L, 27H, 27W, and 27T services between central Auckland and Auckland Airport.[17][18]

Signal box

The Mt Eden Local Control Panel was installed in the station building in 1967 and removed from service in 1995 when the station building was removed. The panel has been preserved in working order.

See also

References
  1. "Britomart to Karangahape Signalling". City Rail Link Ltd. 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  2. Scoble, Juliet (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  3. "Auckland Electrifcation Map" (PDF). KiwiRail. September 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  4. Railway Stations of Auckland's Western Line (2004) by Sean Millar
  5. "Mt Eden station to be closed for four years". Radio NZ. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  6. "Auckland City Rail link budget blowout". Stuff/Fairfax. 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  7. "Media Releases". Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  8. "Mt Eden station redevelopment". Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  9. "New names for Auckland railway stations". LINZ. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  10. "City Rail Link design change". Auckland Transport. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  11. "Cost down, benefits up from City Rail Link design change" (Press release). Auckland: Auckland Transport. Scoop. 1 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  12. "Maungawhau Station (Mt Eden)". CityRailLink. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  13. "Free Bus Replaces Train During Mt Eden Station Closure". CityRailLink. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  14. Orsman, Bernard (4 June 2017). "Rise of the machines on city's latest underground contract – the City Rail Link". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  15. "City Rail Link: demolition of 30 buildings underway". Radio New Zealand. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  16. "Construction: Maungawhau Station (Mt Eden)". CityRailLink. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  17. "Mount Eden Road bus map" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  18. "Dominion Road bus map" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
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