Mount Albert railway station

Railway station in New Zealand

Mount Albert railway station is in the suburb of Mount Albert on the Western Line of the Auckland railway network in New Zealand, near Unitec, a local tertiary education provider, and is popular with Unitec students. It has an island platform and is reached by a footbridge from Carrington Road at the northern end, an overbridge from New North Road on the eastern side, and a subway that runs between Willcott Street and New North Road at the southern end.

History

• 1880: Opened as one of the original stations on the North Auckland Line.^[2][3]
• 1908: A signal box was added.^[3]
• 1909: A new station building was built, after the previous one was destroyed by fire.^[3]
• 1920s: A siding to Mount Albert Quarry from the station is closed.^[3]
• 1966: The line was double-tracked and much of the station's infrastructure (including the signal box) was removed. The signal box is preserved at MOTAT.^[3]
• 2010: Significant discussion, including during the run-up to the local body elections, considered the station (and especially its access-ways and weather shelters) as dilapidated and in need of renewal.^[4] Also particularly criticised were the run-down shop rear areas fronting the railway station from the New North Road side. A former Auckland City councilor suggested that a green wall would offer an option to hide these unsightly areas behind low-cost, low-maintenance planting.^[5]
• 2013: The station was upgraded as part of a 2-stage Auckland Transport programme in anticipation of the Auckland railway electrification project. The $9 million upgrade, which included an overhead covered walkway from Carrington Road, new passenger shelters, and other enhancements, was ceremonially opened in July 2013.^[6][7] The second stage, which was to include a $1.23 million overbridge walkway to New North Road, was scheduled to be completed by August 2016.^[8][9]
• 2016: The overbridge, connecting the station directly to the pedestrian precinct of the Mount Albert shopping area, was opened on 17 September 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Services

A number of bus services pass this station, allowing easy transfer, although there are no signs or information provided at the station. These include routes 22N, 22R, 66, 209 and the Outer Link.^[10]

See also

• List of Auckland railway stations
• Public transport in Auckland

References

1. "Auckland Electrifcation Map" (PDF). KiwiRail. September 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
2. Scoble, Juliet (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
3. Railway Stations of Auckland's Western Line (2004) by Sean Millar
4. Davison, Isaac (14 September 2010). "Super City: Transport cuts to heart of the matter". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
5. "The 'Green Wall of Mt Albert'". Auckland City Harbour News. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
6. "Stage one transforms Mt Albert Train Station". Scoop.co.nz. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
7. "Mt Albert railway station upgrade wakes the neighbours". New Zealand Herald. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
8. "Mt Albert pedestrian overbridge gets green light". Stuff.co.nz. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
9. "Mt Albert's pedestrian overbridge on hold". Stuff.co.nz. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
10. "Central Guide" (PDF). Auckland Transport. Retrieved 20 June 2022.