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Pedestrian level crossing removal Pedestrian level crossing removal

As part of the Metro Rail Enhancement Programme, AT is investigating the removal of pedestrian-only level crossings to improve safety and enable more frequent trains.

Project Zone: Region-wide
Project Status: Initial Design Phase

Railway crossing

Background

Auckland's rail network has seen sustained, significant growth over the past few years. This is a result of successful improvements to passenger services and supporting infrastructure, which has encouraged commuters to shift travel onto public transport. As Auckland's population continues to grow, we'll see further increases in people travelling by rail and a need for more train services.

We are working with our partners to upgrade the rail network and there are several projects underway:

These improvements will significantly increase rail capacity and provide greater network resilience.

We're also developing an updated timetable for the opening of CRL. The updated timetable will improve the peak-directional frequency and capacity of services without increasing overall train movements at some level crossings.

These service patterns mean train frequencies will increase by 100%, resulting in barrier arms and automatic safety gates at level crossings being lowered more often than they are raised. There will be fewer opportunities for people to cross the railway and a greater likelihood of unsafe behaviour and crossing attempts.

Due to these safety risks, and to meet legal requirements set by the Waka Kotahi (the primary rail safety regulator), closure of pedestrian-only level crossings is required.

Project details

Closing Pedestrian-only Level Crossings

As part of the Metro Rail Enhancement Programme, AT in investigating the removal of all rail level crossings across the rail network. Work is now underway to remove pedestrian-only level crossings first, which have been prioritised as they are less disruptive remove.

Closing these crossings also needs to be aligned with the City Rail Link (CRL). To do this, we need to adopt a staged approach to close one crossing at a time as soon as possible.

We need to close the crossings as soon as possible due to the testing and commissioning requirements for CRL Day One services. This involves AT running additional train services in the months before CRL opens to demonstrate to Waka Kotahi (the primary safety regulator) that we have reduced the risks associated with increased frequencies. Unfortunately, this testing and commissioning work cannot be delayed. 

We are currently engaging with local communities and project partners to raise awareness of the crossing closures and determine suitable closure dates for each crossing.

Investigation locations

We are closing seven pedestrian-only level crossings at the following six locations:

  • Tironui Station Road East, Takaanini
    This crossing is controlled by automatic safety gates and is situated near the busy Takanini shopping centre, schools and other local businesses.
  • Kingdon Street, Newmarket
    This crossing is controlled by automatic safety gates and connects two roads in the busy commercial and business area of Newmarket.
  • Lloyd Avenue, Mt Albert
    This crossing is controlled by automatic safety gates, connects two residential streets, and is situated near the Mt Albert town centre.
  • Corban Estate, Henderson
    This crossing is not controlled by automatic safety gates and is one of three crossings connecting Corban Estate Art Centre to Great North Road.
  • O’Neills Road, Swanson
    This crossing is not controlled by automatic safety gates and is situated between new residential developments, schools and other local businesses.
  • Homai Station
    There are two level crossings at Homai Station. Both crossings are not controlled by automatic safety gates and is situated near the Homai Station to the Blind and Low Vision Campus and Manurewa High School.

Map showing pedestrian level crossing closures (PDF 71.3KB)

Proposed recommendations

Following initial investigations by the project team, the proposed recommendation is to close all seven pedestrian-only level crossings with customers using near-by alternative routes.

Three sites have been identified as needing improvements to their alternative route options.

These sites and their improvements include:

Lloyd Avenue, Mt Albert

  • Signalisation of Prospero Terrace / Carrington Road intersection with improved pedestrian facilities
  • Widening of cycle lanes on Carrington Road with new cycle buffers

Kingdon Street, Newmarket

  • Widening of the footpath on Davis Crescent from 1.3m to 2.5m
  • Provision of a raised table crossing on Davis Crescent and Short Street to calm vehicle traffic.

Homai Station

  • Provision for a new ramp to replace the stairs between Browns Road and Homai Station to enable safe universal access.
  • Improvements to footpaths surrounding the station, including Browns Road, the park and ride, and to the bus stop.

 Project timeline

  • July 2021 – Engagement held with stakeholders to discuss emerging options
  • February 2022 –Single Stage Business Case developed
  • March 2022 – Final recommendations made by project team
  • March 2023 – Begin engagement with stakeholders to discuss proposed outcomes
  • Mid 2023 – Closure of the Corban Estate pedestrian level crossing

Strategic need for the project

The Church Street East level crossing investigation aligns strongly with a number of AT and Government policies, such as:

These documents provide the strategy direction for this project and support it through:

  • Supporting Auckland's Vision Zero programme, ensuring the transport system is safer by eliminating harm.
  • Enabling interventions that improve safety by improving passenger safety and security.
  • Ensuring our transport system contributes to liveable cities and towns by providing people with good travel options. This requires all parts of the transport system, including roads, rail, public transport, and walking and cycling routes to work together.
  • Identifying investments in the rail system that will lead to delivering infrastructure and services, at the right time, to the right level, and at the best cost.
  • Supporting the implementation of the City Rail Link opening.

For more information on this project

Contact Auckland Transport