MEDIA STATEMENT
18 February 2004

IA Grant Of $23.2 Million Gets Rail Upgrade On Track

Statement made by John Robertson, Chairman, Infrastructure Auckland

The Auckland Passenger Rail Upgrade Project got underway today with a grant from Infrastructure Auckland (IA) of $23.2 million for double-tracking sections of the Western Line between Boston Road in Mt Eden and Avondale Station.

The IA grant is a much-needed catalyst to create action and progress for the benefit of rail commuters.

The grant goes to the Crown, as the owner of Auckland’s rail network, and is expected to allow for an effective doubling of peak service levels on the Western Line from New Lynn to Auckland (Britomart).

Currently service reliability on the Western Line suffers because many sections of it operate on a single track.

IA’s grant will help remove this bottleneck and increase service reliability, by providing for approximately 2.2 kilometres of new track, and realignment of existing track, creating 7.5 kilometres of continuous double track railway from Boston Rd to Avondale.

This will improve service reliability and capacity.

In addition the project improves accessibility by replacing three existing pedestrian over-bridges and adding two new platforms to Kingsland Station.

Today’s grant is the first step in implementation of the Auckland Passenger Rail Upgrade Business Plan, developed and agreed to by the region in 2003. IA helped fund the business plan and has been a strong supporter of plans to upgrade the long-neglected rail network.

Ends.

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