The Auckland City Council decided this week that the underground rail link needs to expand to cope with future growth. Rail has been more popular than expected with passenger numbers increasing and It is a much better idea to allow for future growth now before construction starts. The Council decided to build longer platforms at Aotea Square and Karangahape stations, long enough for 9 carriages instead of 6. They also decided on two extra entrances to the Karangahape station. The plan now is for the stations to cope with 54,000 passengers an hour at peak times instead of the original plan for 36,000.
Councillors remembered the mistake in the late 1950s when the Harbour Bridge was built with 4 lanes. Ten years later, another 4 lanes were attached on either side. To expand an underground station in 10 years’ time would be more difficult and more expensive. Of course, this will add a few million dollars to the $3.5bn. The government still has to vote on this because the cost is shared between the council and the government. A company called City Rail Link Ltd (CRLL), owned by the council and government, is in control of the construction.
The City Rail link is a 3.5km double track loop under the central city so that Britomart does not become a dead end station. Construction is just beginning and is due to be completed in 2024 or 2025.
Public transport passengers increased by 17% last year. That includes trips by rail, ferries and buses but Aucklanders are realising that there needs to be better alternatives to building new motorways.
Vocabulary
• cope (v) – manage. Note this is a very useful verb, used in many situations eg. How are people coping with the heat during this very hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere?
• peak times – busiest times
• dead-end (adj) – not going anywhere, not continuing; start and finish only
Note: if you are listening to this tonight (27th) don’t forget the lunar eclipse tomorrow morning around 8am. It will be spectacular for those people who live in the far south, but maybe the rest of us will see a blood moon.