How Rail Electrification Will Look at Stations – Can Auckland’s Landscape Cope?
Posted by Jon C in electrificationNov 13th, 2009 | 18 responses
This is how Kiwirail is showing Auckland councils how electrification will look at stations and in their region’s landscape – in this case Papakura.
Andrew, who is doing an interesting blog on living without a car for a month reprinted the superimposed photos from a Kiwirail newsletter.
This look at Swanson of what the masts and wires will look like, which hopefully won’t set some of the eco-councillors into a tizzy in Waitakere.
The newsletter quoted by Andrew says:
The first photo is looking south along the NIMT towards Papakura Station. The single track cantilevers shown will be the most common mast on the network. This will be the site of a stabling facility – which is why there are so many masts.
Auckland’s local body politicians are being given a preview of what the rail network will look like once the electrification project is completed. A series of images have been created by superimposing traction masts onto photos taken around the rail network.
Electrification project director Murray Hood is doing the rounds of the councils giving them an update on project progress, and taking the opportunity to show them what the network will look like post 2013.
It’s not just a case of taking a guess – these images are very much based on reality.
A series of different mast types will be used around the network to ensure the overhead wires are held at the correct height and tension.
Photo |NZ Herald
Let’s hope we don’t have a repeat of the ridiculous outcry, which happened once before about wires in Auckland.
Legendary is the story of what happened in 2002 in Auckland with TelstraClear’s plans for cable.
The plan including overhead cable including, I believe, along southern train lines.
The Auckland Herald ran an alarmist story with this photo (right) showing how TelstraCable apparently looked in Wellington, where the then fledging telco was offering a competitive phone and cable TV offering to Telecom and SKY TV. It was taken just out someone’s window in Wellington implying it was how all of Wellington had been disfigured thanks to an eco-unfriendly Australian-funded telco!
Thundered the Herald: “Draw the curtains and look outside. The view will have changed if TelstraClear’s plan is approved. Political leaders across the Auckland region are horrified by TelstraClear’s plans to hang thick black cables off power poles.”
The paper campaigned with horror stories for days, always referring to the cables as “black” as if this was some sort of Victorian chimney soot about to land on the rooftops of St Heliers’ mansions. They were also always referred to as “thick” meaning your house would soon disappear behind a screen of them.
“TelstraClear wants to string up black cables, some as thick as the inside of a toilet roll, in Auckland and Manukau cities so it can introduce high-speed internet, cable television and telephone services.It has sought resource consent in four areas of Auckland..”
The first story caused an immediate outrage not just from the public, but from local body leaders who also reacted to angry phone calls from Auckland households imaging their homes covered in a tangle of thick black wires, their view gone and their property values – a common Auckland obsession – tumbling.
Some of those local body leaders are still around today.
Followup articles had a field day of an Auckland in supposed major crisis. One big story read:
Auckland City mayor John Banks says the idea “freaks me out”. The five leaders last night reacted strongly to the proposal, some vowing to fight if the communications company tries to move into their areas.
Mr Banks said last night: “I am committed to the beautification of neighbourhood streets … The prospect that these ugly cables be strung across Auckland City freaks me out.”
Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey said: “It’s an aerial horror story. I and Waitakere will vigorously oppose it. “I couldn’t imagine anything worse than the skylines of Piha and Karekare strung with black rope.”
So how will the same Mr Harvey feel about this new look to his Glen Eden station in his eco – city? Will it be an aerial horror story, too? Once Kiwirail has knocked on his door with the images, I’m sure we’ll hear.
The 2002 Herald stories about Telstra managed to completely kill the plans for the telco to bring Auckland an alternative to Telecom’s slow internet offerings.
These days, newspapers don’t hold the sway they once did – but if the Herald does get hold of this, and campaign, it could scare politicians a year out from a very important supermayoral election which will determine some of their fates.
And today the world has become so eco-conscious, Vector are busy hiding cables underground in Auckland and even a wind farm the other day failed to get environmental court approval because it was thought to obscure South Island’s untouched hilly landscape.
18 Responses to “How Rail Electrification Will Look at Stations – Can Auckland’s Landscape Cope?”
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Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Hey, thanks for the plug
Are some of us Aucklanders really that stupid?
Honestly, if such objection does happen as you describe, and manages to kill electrification off, it will only prove that Auckland is completely inept at making intelligent decisions, and I for one will give up and move out.
Wellington and Melbourne are the first equal of my list of alternate cities to live in, should Auckland go all NIMBY on such a basic and essential infrastructural need that every other sizeable Australasian city bar Adelaide already has.
And in ten years’ time, Auckland will be the only one left as Adelaide is also electrifying now.
Those who think it’ll be ugly obviously haven’t travelled anywhere. I encourage them to look at Wellington’s electric rail system for themselves, or any Australian system, and look up how electrification changed those cities (especially Perth, as it is a recent case).
Even if thay can’t be bothered doing that, they should go to Western Springs and look at the tramline there and its overhead. Is it really that bad?
Electric wires over railway lines is not a big deal. I cannot see Auckland decision makers causing a fuss over this. I’m sure they knew what electrification would be before these pictures were released.
Yet some Aucklanders never leave the city so they don’t know what happens in Wellington. But I would image most in the know have been down.
I’m sure that electric wires above a rail corridor is far more attractive than a 7 lanes of congested motorway!!! (or big motorway flyovers)
The wires do look ugly compared to not having them at all, no debate, the point is there is a trade off. Most Aucklanders can analyse the situation and way up the benefits and disadvantages, and those whom do will find the benefits completely out-way the disadvantages.
Having lived in Wellington, I can assure you that that photograph is actually not too far off the truth in quite a few places. Large bundles of thick black cables run along every street. It actually is ugly, and was one of the first things I noticed when I moved down. Made taking streetscape photos quite a pain. It’s all very well to sneer, but the concerns were entirely justified.
However, I don’t think we’ll get the same reaction to electrification. For one thing, it’s narrow corridors rather than every street. Also, it comes with demonstrable benefits that cannot easily be delivered in an alternative manner. That’s contrasted to cable, which we know can be delivered underground. Don’t forget, too, that the TCL approach came right as Auckland City was in the midst of a major project to put all overhead cables underground.
Either we have them or we have to go back to the drawing board and design trains that run on thin air.
Anyway they look WAY BETTER than the electricity poles we have in West Auckland. I nicknamed the one outside my house “the Christmas tree”.
Third rail electrification anyone..? Hmm, hmmm…?
Just shows how strange I am, I like the streets in Wellington and Melbourne lined with power lines and trolley cables and wish Auckland had them…
It makes me feel like I’m living in a CITY..! They also represent less car fumes to me…
Waitakere City has been pushing for electriciation and managed to lobby hard enough to have the western line fully completed before the southern and eastern lines. Planning officers and councillors alike are supportive. And, the land is designated so there is only so much say that terriorial authorities can have.
I agree with Jeremy that the overhead lines will start to make Auckland look truly metropolitan. Beautiful!
I somewhat agree with Jeremy. I think the power poll help create the identity of Wellington city. They bring character on the street and are something to look at. You often even see them in paintings and photos of Wellington landscapes. I’m not saying this is the model to follow, but Wellington isn’t too bad compared to someother places when it comes to visual appeal.
Ha ha, Third Rail. And then we’d be frying people on a daily basis.
Good eh Jarbury, might finally stop the idiots walking on the tracks, no..?
Hopefully there won’t be any forklifts with containers operating near them or over height diggers on trucks going under them
Third rail is incredibly dangerous for an open-air system such as ours. It’s very unusual for a street-level rail system to use third rail for motive power, instead of catenary wires. It’s fine for subways and elevated rails, but when people can easily (and quite legally) be walking across the tracks it’s very unsafe.
We were just joking around Matt…
Forget safety. The only idiots that step near the lines are taggers. I’d bring in third rail just for that
As for overhead catenaries? Have you ever met a blonde that is practical and intelligent? Catenaries may not be pretty, but in time (and with other improvements), they will make for a first-class rapid rail network that the country can be proud of. In fact, here’s a better analogy – a blonde beauty will always be a little slower than the sleek, smart lass with jet black hair.
Oh dear, I am comparing rail to girls again. Hope the better half of me doesn’t read this
Japan had an incredible amount of overhead wires – lots of cable TV etc.
e.g.
http://sparklette.net/archives/652/wires.jpg
Well if we get decent EMUs, excellent signaling and ten minute frequencies I’d say Auckland Rail System is about to move up from Roseanne Barr to Carmen Electra, wouldn’t you William..?
What? Carmen Electra uses Auckland’s trains? Which ones?
I prefer Halle Berry.