Platform levels 1 Level 1 | Rebuilt 2007 | |
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Location Railway Street West, Papakura, Auckland Owned by KiwiRail and Auckland Transport Line(s) Southern Line
Northern Explorer Platforms Island platform (P1 & P2), side platform (P3), bay platform (P4) Tracks Main line (3)
Passing loop (1)
Backshunt (1, south-east)
Bay platform (1) Owners KiwiRail, Auckland Transport Similar Pukekohe Railway Station, Takanini Railway Station, Te Mahia Railway Station, Otahuhu Railway Station, Newmarket Railway Station - N | ||
Papakura Railway Station is on the Southern Line of the Auckland railway network.
Contents
Historical
Prior to October 2012, the station had an island platform between the main lines, complete with original wooden station building and signal panel, and a suburban side platform to the west. It had a bowstring footbridge connecting the platforms, which dated from at least the 1930s, constructed of old railway iron and sleepers.
Upgrades
In 2007, the island platform was extended to the north, and new shelters were installed. Sidings were commissioned at the east of the station yard for stabling trains overnight. The heritage footbridge was demolished and scrapped, despite some local opposition, and replaced with a concrete bridge with two passenger lifts.
The upgrade cost NZ$4,900,000 and was paid for as part of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority's (ARTA) system-wide upgrade of stations. Platforms were lengthened to enable six-car trains, because of anticipated growth in passenger numbers. 3,000 people passed through each day as of 2007, and another thousand were anticipated to use the station within five years. The new station was the seventh station to be redeveloped by ARTA in 2007.
In 2012 - 13, KiwiRail funded a significant upgrade as part of the Auckland Electrification Project, and to provide resiliency for suburban trains and freight trains heading south. The signalling was completely replaced, and the station building and signal panel, commissioned more than 80 years earlier, were relocated to the western suburban platform, Platform 3. The building was refurbished and restored, and contains the preserved panel on display, a ticket office, public toilets and space for a coffee kiosk.
The North Island Main Trunk has been slewed to the east, with the island Platforms 1 and 2 adjacent to the Up main line to Auckland, typically serving suburban trains from Britomart to Pukekohe. The western suburban Platform 3 has been lengthened, and a new bay platform 4 at its southern extremity will serve DMU shuttles to Pukekohe.
Bus stops are directly outside the ticket office, with the old bus stops on the station side of Railway Street West now only used for intercity services, and "rail buses" that operate when the railway network is shut down.
Suburban rail
The station is the terminus for most suburban passenger trains on the Southern Line. It also serves the Auckland-Wellington Northern Explorer service.
EMU operations commenced in 2015, terminating at the station. An hourly diesel train shuttle service runs on the non-electrified Papakura-Pukekohe section using DMUs. In May 2012, Auckland Transport's board included an investigation to extend electrified services to Pukekohe in its 10-year integrated transport plan.
Buses
Papakura is served by bus routes 33, 360X, 371, 372, 373, 374, 376, 377, 378 and 395.