The railway to Stanley Bay

A suggestion

But if there were, I would use it. Reflecting on this proposition, I have been led to ponder the possibility of a railway to Stanley Bay - and, incidentally, to the Devonport peninsula and points north.

In recent years there have been many proposals for various additional means of transport across the Waitemata Harbour, but so far as I recall none has taken rail as a serious prospect. As the reason for the proposal has usually been to reduce the congestion on the lower harbour bridge, this neglect does seem odd. If you're trying to reduce the road traffic, rail seems to offer itself - but then, I'm not a planner and I don't like cars, which puts me in a position of some detachment from which I can make an unbiased judgment.

But seriously. If you go straight down Queen Street towards the harbour, and keep straight on across the harbour, you get to Stanley Point, and it isn't very far. If you can build a tunnel for about 40km under the English Channel, you can surely build one for about 3km under the Waitemata harbour, and it will be a lot cheaper.

Memory suggests to me that proposals for tunnels to Devonport have been criticised in the past because it would be necessary to go deep enough to accommodate the increasing draughts of ocean-going shipping using the harbour. The tunnel to Stanley Point is further west than the commercial Auckland Harbour, so practically none of the large ships will go anywhere near it. This is very unlikely to change even if more commercial development grows in the upper harbour, if only because the bridge limits the size of ships travelling further west.

A rail line crossing from Britomart Station to Stanley Point, then up the peninsula through Devonport to Takapuna, and maybe further, would provide alternative transport for a very significant proportion of the daily harbour bridge traffic, and could significantly reduce the number of cars travelling to Auckland every day, and the time wasted by the people who travel in the cars. Even now many travel by choice on the ferry, and the railway would be far more efficient and convenient.

Details of the route would clearly be a matter of careful study. ( Or, better, one would hope that they would be a matter of careful study; the history of transport decisions connected with the Waitemata Harbour gives no grounds for confidence. ) My suggested route takes something close to the shortest harbour crossing, then continues - on the surface - through Stanley Bay reserve, Stanley Bay Park, and Navy land ( including the Navy's tunnel under Calliope Road which is conveniently placed to bring the line back to the harbour waterfront ). From there, it could proceed along the seafront, where there is a wide grass strip at present, to the ferry building. From there, it might turn generally north up to Takapuna, probably passing Mount Victoria to the east because there's more room at that side. I would suggest a light rail track, which should be satisfactory for the traffic concerned.

An alternative would be to move the harbour crossing somewhat to the west, coming in to the north side of Stanley Point. This would have the advantage of keeping well clear of the larger ocean-going ships. Passenger liners - which seem to be getting bigger all the time - at present come as far west as Princes Wharf, but other large vessels come only as far as the main port area.

Clearly, there will be many other possibilities. Debate on potential disadvantages of a specific proposal should not be allowed to divert attention from the principle of efficient and car-free transport between Auckland City and the whole Devonport peninsula.

A road crossing from Auckland to Devonport would be silly. It would vastly increase the road traffic along the heavily populated peninsula, which is already congested. Rail gets the people across the harbour without the additional road traffic congestion. It is likely to be more popular than the ferries, because it offers a through journey to many travellers, without the transfer from bus ( or, worse, car ) to ferry which is now necessary. The train would also help to reduce traffic along Lake Road ( north to Takapuna ), particularly that associated with the Naval Base, currently a serious nuisance at peak hours - perhaps a significant advantage of running the railway through the Naval Base.

Overtaken by events !

I have held these views for quite a long time, and started to record them a few days ago. My map shows a continuation of the Stanley Bay railway up Queen Street; this is not idle fancy, but a possibility which has been debated from time to time. I believe it has been around for many years; an article in the New Zealand Herald not very long ago told me that some fairly venerable Queen Street buildings had been designed so that their basements could easily connect to the railway when it was constructed.

But this morning ( 2003 December 9 ) the map which appears on the left was published in the Herald. It shows an underground railway up Albert Street - and a "future North Shore link" going off in a ridiculous direction ! The intention is to cross the harbour somewhere near the present harbour bridge, thereby missing out the whole Devonport peninsula. It is perhaps argued that people will drive to Takapuna, then transfer to the train; perhaps some will, but once they're in their cars they're just as likely to drive over the bridge. A railway up the peninsula would be much more likely to tempt regular travellers to Auckland. It is clearly a matter of some urgency to make my proposal available.

I observe that my map is more convincing; at least I've got Britomart in roughly the right place. It is true that I've also got the old railway station with an extensive array of marshalling yards, but that came with the less-than-current map. I don't mind; the old station was much nicer than Britomart anyway.

Postscript - more events.

- but, alas, not particularly exciting events. This is from the New Zealand Herald of 2005 August 4. ( If you click the map you might get a bigger view. ) It's still wishful thinking, but the North Shore connection has disappeared.

This proposal provides a loop line through Britomart station, so it would be easier to get the trains in and out; it would be slightly more convenient for people up Queen Street, but it doesn't reach a lot of new people like the North Shore line would.