My Alternative CRL Operations Plan after Auckland Transport Dropped Newton Station

 

In my City Rail Link Operations MK2 I had noted Auckland Transport altering the City Rail Link insofar as dropping Newton Station, altering Mt Eden Station to adapt and reorganising the operations plan once the CRL was operating.

You can see Auckland Transport’s new draft Post-CRL operating plan below

 

As a result I reviewed my on alternative City Rail Link Operations Plan I drew up two years ago (see City Rail Link Operations – A Review) and adapted it to the new City Rail Link layout. The adaptation can be seen in the diagram below:

 

Since then I have been working on the frequencies, and line capacities for the individual lines and plug them into Excel. The PDF version will be embedded further down but first a recap on the Lines in the Post CRL Ops – MK2

Breaking Down the Lines

The South to West Line via Newmarket and Grafton (brown on the map)

 

Starting/Terminating either at: Papakura, Pukekohe, Henderson, or Swanson . This particular service does not touch the CRL or Britomart as it serves the South-West link pattern in moving passengers. To reach Britomart or the CRL stations one would have to either use the East to West Line service OR transfer at Newmarket or Grafton and wait for the Onehunga Loop service train to complete the journey.

The purpose of the South-West Line is to form the basis of a cross-city service that current and potential passengers miss out on. Not all passengers want to go to the CBD and there are passengers who do travel South to West and vice versa. The South-West Line also means freeing up the CRL, its stations, and the Newmarket-Britomart Line thus freeing capacity up for other services such as the proposed high-frequency Onehunga Loop. The South-West Link coupled with the Onehunga Loop also removes the current Western Line situation were Western Line trains leave from Britomart and head to Newmarket, wait for three minutes from drivers changing ends, then continuing out west for the rest of the journey (vice versa applies as well heading from west to Britomart). Removing that situation removes the congestion from Newmarket as well.

 

The East to West Line via Britomart, CRL and Mt Eden/Kingsland Station (Yellow on map)

 

Starting/Terminating either at; Papakura, Pukekohe, Henderson, or Swanson . This particular service does touch Britomart and the CRL line (including the CRL stations) as it serves the East-West Link in moving passengers. To reach Newmarket, Grafton or the current Onehunga Line, passengers would either transfer at Otahuhu, Britomart, Newton Station, or Mt Eden Station to complete their respective journeys. The Eastern Line becomes the primary line to Britomart and Aotea Station from south of Otahuhu.

Like the South to West Line, the East to West Line also forms the basis of a cross city service linking up the south with the west. However in this Line operation, the service would travel via the Eastern Line (so Sylvia Park – Orakei) before stopping at Britomart, then continuing up the CRL through the West Link, and finally out on the Western Line towards Henderson/Swanson. So while we get a similar cross city service, the CBD and Eastern Line Inner Circuit gets served (as well as connected to the wider network) as well.

There is demand for East to West and vice versa with passengers often starting their journey from the current Eastern Line, and needing to head out and complete their journey on the current Western Line (or again vice versa). Cross City travel is there and very relevant to commuters, thus once the CRL is up and running, the CRL Timetable/Operation not only needs to reflect the needs of CBD people, but people who commute cross-city as well. Hence the three lines I am proposing cater for both CBD bound and Cross-City bound commuters.

See the embedded worksheet on draft timetable/operation plan for East-West Line

 

The Onehunga Loop via Newmarket, Britomart , CRL, CRL East Link, Grafton,Newmarket(or vice versa – bi-directional loop system) (light blue on map)

 

Both starting and terminating effectively at Onehunga Station, this particular line forms the basis of a high frequency loop that utilises; Grafton, The CRL East Link (now the Mt Eden Junction), and the Newmarket-Britomart Branch Line.  The Line basically follows the existing Onehunga Line from Onehunga to Britomart, however at Newmarket the service can either continue to Britomart or swing a left and head up to Grafton, then go down the CRL via The East Link through to Britomart, before heading back out to Onehunga via Newmarket as current. The beauty of the Onehunga (high-frequency)Loop is twin-fold:

1. First it forms an alternative City Loop system that would move passengers from one end of the CBD to the other, and through to Newmarket in a more quick and efficient manner than the Inner Link Bus could ever provide. In a sense of irony post-CRL the entire operation I have proposed actually allows the Parnell Station (which I still oppose due its potential to foul the congested Newmarket-Britomart Line) to be effective and allow train passengers to reach Parnell, due to my CRL Timetable/operation proposal de-congesting that particular part of the line.
2. Second, The Onehunga Loop allows from very quick transfers to/from the other two lines (as the Onehunga Loop shares the same track as both the South to West, And East to West Lines at some point. I count nine potential transfer stations that the Onehunga Loop passes through to allow seamless transfers from one line to another.

However I do see a snag forming a 5-7 minute frequency (that is between Onehunga and Newmarket, 10-14 minute frequency once the loop splits at Newmarket and each train goes in opposite directions on the loop) for the Onehunga Loop and that is the fact that it is single track between Penrose and Onehunga itself. It takes 8 minutes for the train currently to reach Onehunga once it leaves the dual tracked main line, around a 3-5min park up at Onehunga to exchange passengers and crews to change ends, then another 8 mins back to the dual main line heading towards the city. That means the line is blocked for upwards of 21 minutes before another train can go down – which means in short it buggers my Loop pattern for the CRL. 21 minute frequency between Onehunga and Newmarket, with 42 mins on the actual loop is not quite the high frequency I had in mind. There is an intermediate solution and there is an optimal solution to this problem.

The optimal solution is to double track the Onehunga Line – which will be needed when the Airport Line is built and open. The intermediate solution is to electrify and utilise the passing-loop between Penrose Platform 3 and Te Papapa stations. The idea is that either the arriving or departing Onehunga service could park up in the passing loop briefly while the other train moves out of the road. I believe by using the passing loop until track duplication is complete would increase the frequency by double (so 12 minutes between Newmarket and Onehunga, and 20-24min frequencies on the loop). However you could still have passengers waiting somewhere as the train makes it way through the passing loop which is not quite acceptable in my books for a high frequency rail service – especially for the kind of line/loop I am proposing. But pragmatism, experience and wisdom will tell me that we will be using this passing loop on the Onehunga Line first, before the Onehunga Line track is duplicated for the Airport Line. So I suppose once the CRL is open, the next project would be the Airport Line via Onehunga.

 

The Manukau North to Henderson OR Mt Roskill Line via Glen Innes, Britomart and CRL (Light Orange or Gold)

This variable frequent service (compared to the South-West and East-West Lines)  would act as an “Inner Circuit” relief to the longer running East-West Line Trains especially during peak times (the inner circuit being between Otahuhu and New Lynn (so inner stations)). This line though does serve the Manukau City Centre Station from the north (a separate line services the station from the south) while also making advantage of the proposed Mt Roskill Line thus expanding the catchment of the rail network. The Manukau City Centre Station is also the main station (being next to the proposed Manukau Transport Hub) for the upcoming Manukau Super Metropolitan Centre – the heart of the growing Southern Auckland. Manukau City Centre Station is also served by the proposed Manukau to Papakura/Pukekohe via the Manukau South Link which is described below.

 

The Manukau South Line (Orange)

This Line set at 15 minute all day – 7 day a week frequencies allow shuttle services between initially Papakura and Manukau via the Manukau South Link (to be built) before being extended out to Pukekohe as Drury and Paerata Stations get built over time. This Line allows Southern Auckland’s population base to be able to access and connect with Manukau City Centre (a future Super Metropolitan Centre) – the heart and hub of Southern Auckland. This Line would give people the choice of being able to use rail rather than drive between a residential population centre and its commercial heart. With Manukau also containing the proposed Manukau Interchange the Manukau South Line would allow you to train from Papakura to Manukau direct then transfer to (as an example) a bus heading to Botany Town Centre (and vice versa for the return trip home).

 

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The Full Layout of my Alternative CRL Operations Plan – MK2

 

Note as it is formatted to PDF on A3 paper you will need to download the document and zoom in in order to read it. You can print it out on A4 as well and still be able to read it clearly. Apologies but with the large amounts of information it was easier to format it to A3 size.

 

The ops plan does factor in the following:

• The Manukau South Link
• The Onehunga Line being duplicated and/or extended to the Airport
• The Mt Roskill Spur Line being built

 

What it does not factor in the North Shore Line owing both to when it will be built (at least 2025 if not 2030) and whether it will be heavy rail (so compatible with our existing system) or light rail (not so compatible).

As for how many electric trains needed? I am still working that out before giving a final answer on that one and whether we will need more than 57 electric trains (which we will need more any how to allow increased frequencies and increased ability to run the 6-car double EMU consists)

 

Thoughts or critiques? Leave a comment in the comment box.

Part Three I will look at the number of trains possibility needed and a first look at the CRL-Ops Plan Post North Shore Line (assuming it is heavy rail).