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Rotokauri railway station

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Coordinates: 37°44′45″S 175°13′36″E / 37.745950°S 175.226539°E / -37.745950; 175.226539
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Rotokauri Transport Hub
Regional Rail, Bus
View from overbridge looking south
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates37°44′45″S 175°13′36″E / 37.745950°S 175.226539°E / -37.745950; 175.226539
Elevation33 m (108 ft)
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
DistanceWellington 547.83 km (340.41 mi)
Tracks2 (doubled from 30 June 1929)
Construction
Parkingyes
Other information
StatusCurrently open
WebsiteTe Huia - Rotokauri
History
Opened19 December 1877 original
2021
Closed10 January 1971[1]
Rebuilt2018–2021
Previous namesTe Rapa Railway Station
Services
Preceding station KiwiRail Following station
Huntly
towards Auckland Strand
 Te Huia Hamilton (Frankton)
Terminus
Historical railways
Horotiu
Line open, station closed
5.71 km (3.55 mi)
towards Waitematā
 North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail
 Te Rapa Racecourse
Line open, station closed
3 km (1.9 mi)
towards Wellington

Rotokauri railway station (formerly Te Rapa railway station), also known as The Hub, is a railway station, park and ride, and bus station in north Hamilton, New Zealand serving Rotokauri and Te Rapa.[2] Located on the North Island Main Trunk, it was previously a flag station, and was closed in January 1971.[1] It reopened as an integrated transport hub in 2021 as part of Te Huia services between Hamilton and Papakura[3] (extended to The Strand in 2022).[4] Services started on 6 April 2021.[5][6]

The original station was near the corner of what is now Tasman Rd and Te Kowhai Rd East. The wartime NZRAF stores base (now The Base) is at the foot of this 1961 picture. A locomotive appears to be shunting in the sidings. The new station is located slightly further south, along the NIMT.

History

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Te Rapa Railway Station

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Opening with the Newcastle to Hamilton extension of the railway from Auckland on Wednesday 19 December 1877,[7] Te Rapa railway station was originally 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Horotiu (then named Pukete) and 3 mi (4.8 km) north of Hamilton[8] on the NIMT. A through siding was added in 1878, it appeared in the April 1879 timetable[9] and, by 1884, it had a passing loop for 21 wagons, a shelter shed, platform and loading bank.[10]

In 1916, it was equipped with distant signals[11] and was part of the extension of automatic signalling from Ngāruawahiā to Frankton from Sunday 30 June 1929,[12] when the sidings were switch-locked and automatically controlled[13] and the former single track doubled.[14] The sidings were extended into the RNZAF stores depot, to the south east, when it was built during the war[15] There were also bulk cement and Apple & Pear Board sidings.[14]

In July 1965 it was noted that, for the past nine months, passenger bookings had been nil and, in September, approval was given to remove the station building and low-level platform. Construction of a new marshalling yard near the Racecourse began in December 1967.[10]

Rotokauri Transport Hub

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Rotokauri station looking south

Modern plans for a transport hub in north Hamilton started around 2007 in the Rotokauri Structure Plan and District Plan. Eventually, land was bought in 2017, and funding for the transport hub was announced in the 2018-2028 10 Year Plan.[16]

At a meeting of the Hamilton Public Transport Joint Committee on November 28 2018, the Council estimated the cost of a new station, park and ride and transport hub at Rotokauri to be $21m, with $6.4m allowed to land purchasing.[17] The plan was for an integrated transit hub in north Hamilton to connect with a proposed Hamilton to Auckland passenger train. These plans were dependent on NZTA funding for both the train and the hub itself. At the time of the Joint Committee meeting in November 2018, the opening was scheduled for March 2020.

In 2019 the Sixth Labour Government announced funding for a passenger rail link between Auckland and Hamilton, at the time called Tron Express[16] but later called Te Huia. This funding included the construction of a transport hub in Rotokauri, alongside maintenance facilities.[18] In March 2020, the original planned opening date, Hamilton City Council announced new opening date of the park and ride scheme on August 3 2020, and an increased cost estimate of $29m,[19] this was planned to coincide with the commencement of Te Huia services. The new station was built just south of the site of the original station.[20] The March 2020 announcement also stated that the transit hub would have a rail platform, park and ride carpark, bus interchange, roading upgrades, passenger bridge and stairs. The council also highlighted a delay in lift installation was "due to international supply chain issues".[19]

On January 29 2020, a blessing ceremony was held at the transit hub ahead of its opening week.[21] The signs around the hub include both English Language and Reo Māori names. The station has two through-platforms, three lifts, and three sets of stairs. The over-bridge links the bus terminal, the platforms, and The Base shopping mall. The Hamilton City Council has purchased land next to the carpark in order to allow for a potential carpark expansion, or another development.[21] There have also been changes in the road layout around the hub, including the construction of a new road called Kiriwai Drive, named after a local (Kaumātua).

Services

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Currently the only train is Te Huia linking Hamilton to Auckland (stopping at Papakura, Puhinui, The Strand), four times daily on weekdays (two in each direction), and once each way on some Saturdays. These services started on 6 April 2021.[5][6] These were the first passenger services since the original station closed. Even though the Northern Explorer passes through on the NIMT, it does not stop at this station.

Te Huia timetable[22]
Service Time Destination
Weekday 6:23 a.m. The Strand
11:36 a.m. Hamilton (Frankton)
2:15 p.m. The Strand
7:38 p.m. Hamilton (Frankton)
Saturday 7:49 a.m. The Strand
8:05 p.m. Hamilton (Frankton)

Rotokauri Transport Hub is also a major point along several of Hamilton and Waikato's bus routes. It was planned that the hub would have 180 daily bus movements at the start, but this will increase to 400.[21]

Buses

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Previous timetabled stop Route Next timetabled stop
Terminus Meteor
 Nawton Shopping Centre
towards Hamilton Transport Centre
Terminus 09
Nawton 		Fraser High School
Hamilton Transport Centre
Flagstaff
towards Chartwell Shopping Centre 		Orbiter
 Wintec
towards Dinsdale

Accidents

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In a fog in 1934, a southbound train from Auckland collided with a goods train. The only casualty was a pig,[23] but the AB locomotive was thrown on its side.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  2. ^ New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). Quail Map Co. 1993. ISBN 0-900609-92-3.
  3. ^ "Celebration as Hamilton's new transport hub opens". 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. ^ Walker, Richard (26 November 2021). "All change: Te Huia makes a step shift". Stuff. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b Mather, Mike. "New launch date for Hamilton-Auckland commuter rail service announced". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Long-awaited train service between Waikato and Auckland begins". RNZ. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ "EXTENSION OF THE RAILWAY TO HAMILTON. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 21 December 1877. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Page 3 Advertisements Column 4 (New Zealand Herald, 1879-04-03)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Railways. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 9 June 1879. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  11. ^ "1916 New Zealand Railways Statement by the Minister of Railways, The Hon. W. H. Herries". atojs.natlib.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  12. ^ "LOCAL AND GENERAL. WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 June 1929. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ^ "1930 New Zealand Railways Statement by the Minister of Railways, The Hon. W. A. Veitch". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  14. ^ a b New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). Quail Map Co. 1993. p. 4.
  15. ^ "Sheet N56". www.mapspast.org.nz. 1944. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Hamilton to Auckland commuter rail: Partnership key to new service". NZ Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Hamilton Public Transport Joint Committee Agenda - 26 November 2018" (PDF). Waikato Regional Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Auckland – Hamilton commuter service funding approved". International Railway Journal. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Rail service opening date proof of partnership". Our Hamilton. 11 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  20. ^ "3.6 Rotokauri – Hamilton City Council". www.hamilton.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Leaman, Aaron. "Hamilton's new Rotokauri Transport Hub gears up for opening". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Timetable". tehuiatrain.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  23. ^ "New Zealand Herald Page 10 TRAINS COLLIDE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 November 1934. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Auckland Weekly News – photo of collision at Te Rapa station last week: newspaper train crashes into goods train". www.aucklandcity.govt.nz. 7 November 1934. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
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