Ōrākei railway station
Ōrākei | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Transport Urban rail | |||||||||||
The station in 2013, looking westwards. | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Remuera, Auckland | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°51′45″S 174°48′34″E / 36.862426°S 174.809553°E | ||||||||||
| Owned by | KiwiRail (track and platforms) Auckland Transport (buildings) | ||||||||||
| Operated by | Auckland One Rail | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Eastern Line | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Island platform (P1 & P2) | ||||||||||
| Tracks | Mainline (2) | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Platform levels | 1 | ||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Fare zone | Isthmus | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 16 November 1930 | ||||||||||
| Electrified | 25 kV AC | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2011 | 983[1] passengers/weekday | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Ōrākei railway station in the Auckland suburb of Remuera is located on the North Island Main Trunk line in New Zealand. Eastern Line services of the Auckland railway network are the only services that regularly stop at the station. It has an island platform layout and can be reached by an overbridge from Ōrākei Road. It is backed by a car-park and a shopping complex.
History
The station was originally constructed, along with five others, in 1929 on the route of the Westfield Deviation, which was being built to divert the Auckland–Westfield section of the North Island Main Trunk line (NIMT) via a flatter, faster eastern route to link up with the original NIMT tracks at Westfield Junction.[2]
The site, 2 mi 5 ch (3.3 km) from the new Auckland station and 7 mi 55 ch (12.4 km) from Westfield, was levelled in 1925, requiring 300,000 cart loads to be removed. J W Bambury Ltd built the flag station of wood, with a tiled roof. In 1953 2 railway houses were built. The station burnt down on 27 May 1972,[3] leaving only parts of the walls and verandah.[4] It was replaced by a temporary shed. By 1989 it had a concrete block shelter shed and a platform 164 m (538 ft) long and 250 mm (9.8 in) high 250 mm.[5]
The station was temporarily closed between March 2023 and January 2024 due to Stage 2 of the Rail Network Rebuild. The Eastern Line was temporarily closed between Ōtāhuhu and Britomart for major track renewal work and prepared the Eastern Line for the opening of the City Rail Link.[6] During this time, a rail bus replacement was used instead of running trains.
Ōrākei Bay Village
From 2016 warehouses beside the station were converted for use as shops and a cinema,[7][8] after a 2008 plan by the Redwood development group, for several skyscraper apartment buildings, green space and waterfront access, had been defeated. A plan limited to six stories was then discussed. It would have retained public access and amenities, and provided a covered train station.[9]
Services
Auckland One Rail, on behalf of Auckland Transport, operates suburban services between Britomart and Manukau via this station. The basic weekday off-peak timetable is:[10]
- 3 tph to Britomart
- 3 tph to Manukau
Bus route 781 serves Ōrākei station.[11]
See also
References
- ^ Auckland Transport Board Meeting (20 November 2012) Agenda Item 10(i) "Rail Electrification Extension" Archived 14 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine p. 16
- ^ "Westfield Deviation – One track in use by May". The New Zealand Herald. 27 February 1929. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Fire causes rail delays. Press". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 May 1972. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
- ^ "Railways New Zealand". Flickr. 30 May 1972. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
- ^ Scoble, Juliet. "Station Archive". Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
- ^ Hue, Justin (2 March 2023). "Traffic woes as many Eastern trains to halt for rest of year". Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Downsized Orakei Bay development back on the table". Stuff. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Auckland's Orakei Bay Village market open for business". Stuff. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ Borley, Craig (10 October 2008). "Developer scales down Orakei plan". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ "Eastern Line timetable" (PDF). 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ "Central Guide" (PDF). Auckland Transport. Retrieved 19 March 2023.