Well there is some good news to report on the Onehunga Line, and some bad news (well, no news is bad news in this case). The good news has emerged from the answer to a parliamentary question about whether the Onehunga branch would be included in the electrification project – which was a point of debate back in August when it seemed like there would be some serious cutbacks to electrification. Here’s the question, and its answer:
David Shearer to the Minister of Transport (16 Dec 2009): Will the Onehunga Branch Line be electrified, as part of the Auckland rail electrification project?
Hon Steven Joyce (Minister of Transport) replied: Yes.
Excellent.
So how are things going on progressing the Onehunga Line, which is meant to open in mid 2010? Jon C from Auckland Trains has done a before and after photograph of the site – comparing how the Onehunga station and the line directly into it looked in August 2009 and how they look now.
Here’s August 2009:
And here’s this morning (once again, credit to Jon C for the photos):
Ummmm…. that’s really not much progress. In fact it’s no progress at all on a station that should be opened in just a few more months. So what’s going on here ARTA?
I have heard a rumour that there are some resource consents required for the station, and that these might take a while to get. Which begs the question of why these consents weren’t applied for earlier, considering this station was meant to open in November/December last year.
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Hey, things have changed there. Maybe those two containers are meant to act as platforms.