Newmarket Line

Newmarket Line
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerKiwiRail
LocaleAuckland, New Zealand
Termini
Connecting lines
Stations
Service
Services
History
Opened24 December 1873
Technical
Line length2.53 km (1.57 mi)
Num of tracks2
Charactergrade-separated
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead
Train protection systemETCS L1
Route map

Legend
Up arrow
NIMT to Maungawhau
 Waitematā
NIMT Tunnel 20
Right arrow
NIMT to Wellington
 Auckland Strand
Quay Park Junction
State Highway 16 NZ.svg SH 16 The Strand
 Parnell
Parnell Tunnel
UpperLeft arrow
NAL to Whangārei
Newmarket Junction
 Newmarket
Down arrow
NAL to Westfield Junction
This diagram:

The Newmarket Line is a railway line in Auckland, New Zealand, that runs between Newmarket and Quay Park Junction via Parnell. It is 2.5 km long. It connects the North Auckland Line (NAL), which runs between Westfield Junction and Otiria via Newmarket, and the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT), which runs from Wellington to Maungawhau via Quay Park Junction.

The railway line is utilised by frequent all-stations South City Line services, operated by Auckland Transport. Additionally, KiwiRail operates regional Te Huia and intercity Northern Explorer services over the line from Auckland Strand, but these do not stop.

The line has had the name Newmarket Line since 2011. From 1996 to 2011, it was named the Auckland–Newmarket Line, as it ran to the old Auckland railway station until that station closed in July 2003. Between 1977 and 1996, it was named the Newmarket Branch Railway.

Rail works of recent years, such as the triangle north of Newmarket, have incorporated provision for electrification, such as base foundations. Recent bridge works have increased clearances for the catenary.
The same junction as above in December 2010, with some of the traction poles in place, although as yet unfinished.

The Newmarket Line was originally opened to regular passenger trains on 24 December 1873 as the northern portion of Auckland's first railway to Onehunga via Penrose. It was part of the North Island Main Trunk until the Westfield Deviation opened in 1930.: 3 

Since 1915, it has been fully double tracked after an upgrade of Parnell Tunnel north of Newmarket. Previous to that, it led as a single track section through a previous Parnell Tunnel.

In 2007, the major junction that connects the Newmarket Line with the North Auckland Line was rebuilt into a 'wye junction', removing the time-consuming reversing backshunt needed to access the NAL to the north from the Newmarket Line, thus giving the line better access to Britomart Station. This was part of a big upgrade of rail infrastructure in Auckland, and the Newmarket Station and Junction was included in the stage one electrification of the network.

A new station, Parnell, began operation on the line at the suburb of the same name on 12 March 2017, with an official opening on 13 March. It is the only intermediate station on the line, with train services running north to Waitematā or south to Newmarket.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Railway Infrastructure Information (PDF) (Report). KiwiRail. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 5 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Newmarket Line". Land Information New Zealand. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 Geographic Name Proposal Report - Newmarket Line (PDF) (Report). Land Information New Zealand. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Untitled". New Zealand Herald. Vol. X, no. 3782. 25 December 1873. p. 2.
  5. ↑ Yonge, John (1985). New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Third ed.). Quail Map Company. ISBN 090060932X.
  6. ↑ "The Parnell tunnel: An engineering feat". The Evening Post. Vol. LXXXIX, no. 59. 11 March 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Fitzgerald, Mary (14 March 2017). "Businesses and residents delighted with Parnell train station opening". Stuff. Retrieved 18 April 2017.