Westfield railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Westfield
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| Auckland Transport Urban rail | |
Westfield Train Station
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| Location | Westfield, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 36°56.3′S 174°49.9′E / 36.9383°S 174.8317°E |
| Owned by | Auckland Transport |
| Line(s) | Eastern Line Southern Line |
| Platforms | Island platform |
| Tracks | Mainline (2) |
| Construction | |
| Platform levels | 1 |
| Parking | No |
| Bicycle facilities | No |
| Other information | |
| Station code | WSF |
| History | |
| Opened | June 1875 |
| Closed | 12 March 2017 |
| Electrified | 25 kV AC |
| Traffic | |
| Passengers (2011) | 354 passengers/weekday |
The Westfield railway station was a train station in Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of the Auckland railway network. The station closed on March 12, 2017. Auckland Transport decided to close it because not many people (fewer than 330 daily) used it, and it needed expensive repairs.
Westfield station was located about 400 meters south of Westfield Junction. This is where the Eastern and Southern Lines of the Auckland train network meet. Because of its location, it served trains on both lines. The station had an island platform, which means the platform was between two tracks. You could reach it by a footbridge at the end of Portage Road. This bridge also went over the nearby Westfield marshalling yards, which are used for sorting freight trains. It also led to KiwiRail's main operations building.
Contents
Station History
Westfield station opened when Auckland's train network was growing. It started handling goods in June 1875 and passengers on August 29, 1887. The first station building was just a simple wooden shelter on the platform. The new station made it easier to get to a small bay on Manukau Harbour, which became a popular place for picnics. In 1904, the station was at the western end of Portage Road in Otahuhu. This area is the narrowest part of the Auckland isthmus, a thin strip of land connecting two larger landmasses.
Westfield became an important junction station in 1930. This happened when the Westfield deviation (which is now part of the Eastern Line) was finished. This new line connected the North Island Main Trunk and the North Auckland Line. The original station building was replaced with a newer shelter in the 1960s. This was done while the large Westfield Marshalling Yards were being built next to it.
Locomotives at Westfield
During the 1920s, old train engines (locomotives) were sometimes left in areas where the railway tracks might get damaged by erosion or soft ground. This was because scrap metal wasn't worth much back then. Unlike other places where locomotives were left for many years, the engines at Westfield were later taken out and sold for scrap metal.
Other Places Where Locomotives Were Left
- Bealey River
- Branxholme
- Mōkihinui River
- Oamaru
- Omoto
- Waimakariri River
Westfield Marshalling Yard
This large facility was built in the 1960s on land that was reclaimed from the sea. It brought together all the freight train sorting and organizing from several other yards in the Auckland area. Before this yard opened, freight trains were put together at either Auckland or Otahuhu stations. During the 1970s and 1980s, the offices that managed train traffic for the Auckland area were all moved to Westfield.
The new locomotive and wagon repair facilities at Westfield also led to the closing of older engine sheds and service areas. These included places at Auckland, Otahuhu, Papakura, Helensville, and Mercer. Even the Parnell Diesel Depot, built in the 1950s, closed down.
Industrial Train Tracks
Over time, Westfield grew into an important station for freight. Special train tracks, called sidings, once served businesses like Kempthorne Prosser's fertilizer factory, the Westfield Freezing Works, and the Auckland City Abattoir.
Today, sidings at Westfield serve different transport companies. They also connect to the Southdown Freight Terminal and the Metroport, which helps move goods to and from the Port of Tauranga.
Station Use
In its later years, Westfield station had one of the lowest numbers of passengers on the Auckland train network. This was partly because its facilities were old and worn out. Also, it was in a remote spot, far from any main town centers. The station's shelter was in poor condition, but it still offered some protection from the strong wind and rain coming off the Manukau Harbour. In April 2010, the old shelter was taken down. It was replaced with shelters that used to be at the temporary Newmarket stations.
Future Plans
There are plans for a future Third Main Line as part of the Wiri to Quay Park project. This project was announced in 2017 and is expected to start in 2020 and finish in 2024. This new line is meant to help reduce traffic on Auckland's train lines. It will also make it easier for freight trains to get from the Port of Auckland to the Westfield yards. This will allow more passenger and freight trains to run. The new line would be built between Westfield and Wiri, or between Wiri and Papakura.
Images for kids
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N351 locomotive
