Westfield Railway Station

Westfield
Auckland Transport Urban rail
Westfield Train Station
Location	Westfield, New Zealand
Coordinates	36°56.3′S 174°49.9′E / 36.9383°S 174.8317°E / -36.9383; 174.8317
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
Electrified	25kV AC[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2011)	354 passengers/weekday[2]
Services
KiwiRail   Preceding station   Transdev Auckland   Following station Sylvia Park toward Britomart (Auckland) Eastern Line Otahuhu toward Manukau Penrose toward Britomart (Auckland) Southern Line Otahuhu toward Pukekohe

Westfield Railway Station is 400 metres south of Westfield Junction, where the Eastern and Southern Lines of the Auckland Railway Network converge. It is near Westfield Junction, which is the junction of the Eastern and Southern Lines. It has an island platform layout and can be reached from a pedestrian overbridge at the end of Portage Road. The overbridge also spans the adjacent Westfield marshalling yards and gives access to KiwiRail's operations centre and locomotive facility.

History

Westfield station was opened during the expansion of Auckland's suburban railway network, in 1904. Its location is at the western end of Portage Road, Otahuhu, which marks the narrowest point of the Auckland Isthmus. Mount Richmond Domain is nearby. When the station was opened, it gave access to a shallow bay on Manukau Harbour, which became a popular picnic spot. The original station building was merely a wooden shelter on the platform. This was replaced with a newer shelter in the 1960s, whilst the adjacent Westfield Marshalling Yards were being built. Westfield became a junction station between the North Island Main Trunk and the North Auckland Line when the Westfield deviation (Eastern Line) was completed in 1930. ^[3]

Locomotive dump

During the 1920s obsolete locomotives were often dumped in areas where the railway line was subject to erosion or soft ground. The cost of scrap being minimal at the time. Unlike locomotives dumped at other sites, such as Branxholme, Omoto and Oamaru, where the locomotives remained for decades, the locomotives at Westfield were retrieved and sold for scrap.

Known locomotives dumped at Westfield

Other locomotive dumps

• Bealey River
• Branxholme
• Mokihinui River
• Oamaru
• Omoto
• Waimakariri River

Westfield marshalling yard

This facility, built in the 1960s on reclaimed land brought together the freight train marshalling and sorting from several other yards in the Auckland area. Prior to its opening, freight trains were made up at either Auckland or Otahuhu stations. The traffic offices in other stations in the Auckland area were centred at Westfield during the 1970s and 1980s. The locomotive and wagon repair facilities saw steam-era engine sheds and servicing facilities at Auckland, Otahuhu, Papakura, Helensville and Mercer all close as well as the 1950s-era Parnell Diesel Depot.

Industrial sidings

Westfield grew over time as a freight station. Sidings once served Kempthorne Prosser's fertiliser works, Westfield Freezing Works and Auckland City Abbatoir. Modern day sidings serve various transport companies, as well as the Southdown Freight Terminal and Metroport.

Patronage

This station has one of the lowest patronage of any station on the Auckland network, in part due to the decrepit nature of its facilities and its remote location, far from any main centres. The shelter structure is in poor condition yet still provides some protection from the driving wind and rain which comes off the Manukau Harbour. In April 2010 the shelter was torn down, and replaced with shelters formerly used at the temporary Newmarket stations.

When rail services are disrupted south of Otahuhu station, passengers leave trains at this station to board alternative transport; either later trains, or bus alternatives.

References