Transport Requirements for Stadium Clark.

Let's get some facts on the potential for Rail services to handle passengers going to Clark's Waterfront Stadium in downtown Auckland.

The railway into Britomart itself has only two tracks - one up and one down. There is a junction near the Vector Stadium to take railway traffic to Parnell/Newmarket or around the waterfront to Orakei and beyond. Two tracks go into the Britomart tunnel and split into Britomart's underground railway station which has three platforms and five rail lines.

Britomart stated capacity is up to 40 trains and as many as 17,000 passengers an hour - this is in and out - a tidal flow. One way traffic is roughly half - ie going to Stadium Clark or home after the match.

The reality is that the fire restrictions on Britomart are such that the current capacity is actually about 12,000 people per hour - 6,000 in and 6,000 out. It'll take 10 hours to get Stadium Clark filled by rail.

With upgraded trains (for which there is no live proposal at present) capacity could be 25,000 passengers per hour

With new tracks and signalling on the existing rail network the capacity of the station would be 34,000 passengers per hour. This is still half the crowd going to the game but twice the tidal flow.

If the station was converted to a through station and rail continued beyond Britomart and operated as a flow through station, the capacity of the station is 50,000 passengers per hour.

These are the facts.

In other words to have any hope of handling the crowds the rail capacity needs to be increased.

This is the deal the Auckland politicians must demand from Clark and Duck. Stadium Clark can only be supported if the Auckland rail network is electrified and the rail continues from Britomart up Albert Street to reconnect with the track at Mt Eden.

If that railway expansion happens Auckland may be on the way to becoming a world class city.

Plus - make sure the lights don't go out so you'll need to attend to power supply issues as well Helen (and Trev).