Ellerslie railway station

Ellerslie railway station serves the Southern Line and Onehunga Line of the Auckland railway network in New Zealand. It was opened in 1873.[2] It has an island platform.

Ellerslie
Auckland Transport Urban rail
LocationEllerslie, Auckland
Coordinates36.8987°S 174.8082°E / -36.8987; 174.8082
Owned byKiwiRail (track and platforms)
Auckland Transport (buildings)
Line(s)Southern Line, Onehunga Line
PlatformsIsland platform
TracksMainline (2)
Construction
Platform levels1
ParkingNo
Bicycle facilitiesNo
Electrified25 kV AC[1]
Passengers
20091,264 passengers/day
Services
Preceding station   Auckland Transport (Transdev)   Following station
(evenings only)
toward Britomart
Onehunga Line
toward Onehunga
toward Britomart
toward Britomart
Southern Line
toward Papakura

Access to Station

Access to the station at the northern end is by a ramp down from the footbridge crossing the SH1 Southern Motorway between Main Highway, Ellerslie and Kalmia Street. At the southern end of the station there is a subway between Findlay Street and Sultan Street.

History

In December 1873 a railway line between Auckland and Onehunga via Newmarket, Ellerslie and Penrose was opened with great public celebration. The line through Ellerslie subsequently became part of the North Island Main Trunk and later the North Auckland Line, with the branch line from Penrose to Onehunga becoming the Onehunga Branch. The station at Ellerslie was initially between the railway bridges, with the main road running directly through the village and intersecting the line at a level crossing. By 1874 residents became concerned at a number of accidents that had occurred at the crossing and successfully lobbied for relocation of the station to the opposite side of the road, requiring realignment of the road to its present route. The railway encouraged suburban settlement and allowed a daily delivery of letters to the station until the opening of a post office in 1911 and also provided a telegraph office.[3]

From its opening the station was extremely busy with passengers and goods travelling to the port of Onehunga, visitors to the racecourse and gardens, and racehorses travelling from around New Zealand to compete at Ellerslie racecourse. Four or five sidings were constructed specifically for horse boxes and hundreds of residents often gathered to witness their arrival and unloading. The station has had a variety of footbridges, one of which was involved in a 1943 derailment where the train's engine caused the bridge to collapse after striking the supports.[4]

Train traffic increased considerably with industrial development, and between 1950 and 1959, when William Durbridge was appointed stationmaster, up to ten staff members were permanently employed. In November 1959 a new station with modern loading facilities was opened at Tamaki and Durbridge was subsequently transferred, Ellerslie becoming passenger-only.

In 1960 the sidings were torn up to provide space for the Southern Motorway. The old station was severely damaged by fire in the early 1970s and was demolished in 1972. A shelter was then built and this was in turn replaced by smaller shelters in the mid-1990s. A new station similar to those elsewhere on the Auckland suburban system was opened in 2009.

Services

Transdev Auckland, on behalf of Auckland Transport, operates suburban services to Britomart, Onehunga, Papakura and Pukekohe via Ellerslie. The typical weekday off-peak timetable is:[5]

  • 5 tph to Britomart
  • 3 tph to Papakura
  • 2 tph to Onehunga

Bus routes 70, 295, 298, 321 and 782 serve Ellerslie station.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Auckland Electrifcation Map" (PDF). KiwiRail. 28 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  2. Scoble, Juliet (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  3. "Cap and Jacket". The Observer. 15 April 1882. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  4. "Engine Derailed - Brings Down Overhead Bridge". Evening Post. 4 January 1943. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  5. "Southern Line timetable" (PDF). Auckland Transport. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  6. "Central Auckland Network Map" (PDF). Auckland Transport. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
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