Rapid transit to Auckland Airport a step closer with announcement of Puhinui Station Interchange

Friday, 17 May 2019

A Busway to Auckland Airport will be on the way following an upgrade to Puhinui Station. (Video from June 2019)

A $60 million upgrade to the Puhinui Rail Station Interchange in south Auckland is hoped to cut travel times between the airport and CBD.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said construction would begin on the new rail station interchange in October.

It would give Aucklanders with access to the rail network a fast and convenient 10-minute bus connection to Auckland International Airport, they said.

An artist's impression of what the Puhinui Station could look like.

To begin with, it would be a bus service, but in time Twyford said it would become part of a rapid transit route, connecting to Manukau and Botany with a dedicated busway or possibly light rail.

**READ MORE:

The interchange is intended to give travellers a 10-minute bus connection to the airport.

* What you need to know about the Auckland Transport Alignment Project

* New look for Puhinui Station**

Construction on the interchange will begin in October.

* Auckland faces years of holiday train shutdowns due to upgrades

Goff said the project would allow for congestion-free travel to the airport for people across Auckland.

'It will be welcomed by workers and visitors to the city – the impressive new station will mark out the south-western gateway to the city, and provide a modern, safe and weather protected environment to allow people easily and conveniently to transition between road and rail services.'

Once the construction of the station was complete Goff, believed it would be 'pretty impressive to look at'.

'We're taking these grotty old buildings and changing them, and making them into something world-class.

'The station will be a safe place that's well lit with CCTV and we're delighted we've been able to get this.'

The Puhinui interchange project would join the ranks of those at Ōtāhuhu, Panmure and Manukau, and help to create a 21st-century public transport system for Auckland, Goff said.

'If you create a convenient and reliable public transport system, people will use it. By 2028 we're going to have two million people in this city and we've got to have a public transport system that can accommodate that.

'This is something I've wanted since I became mayor and creating this service is a no-brainer to me – every person who gets on a bus or train is one less person on our roads causing congestion.'

Jon Reeves, national coordinator of the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), was among four people who attended the announcement of the project to call for a direct rail link to the airport instead of a bus.

'It was pretty good, I think we've got the message through to Phil Goff and Phil Twyford that there is definitely an appetite for a train to the airport rather than a very slow bus to a plane.

'Goff was telling us that a train would cost him far too much and we advised him that there has actually been no study whatsoever from Auckland council from a train line from Puhinui to the airport so how could he say that?'

The project is planned to be completed within 18 months of construction. Goff said it would open before the APEC leaders meeting in the city in 2021.

Travel times from Puhinui Station to Auckland Airport would be 10 minutes in priority lanes, 22 minutes to Manukau and 46 minutes to Britomart Station.

Seventy-five per cent of the cost – $45 million – would be covered by the Government, with the remainder coming from Auckland Council and the proceeds of the regional fuel tax.