Christchurch railway station is in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is on the Main North Line at Addington junction, and is the only remaining passenger railway station in the city: suburban passenger trains were cancelled due to lack of demand in the 1970s. It is the terminus of the South Island's two remaining long-distance passenger trains, the Coastal Pacific to Picton and the TranzAlpine to Greymouth.
The current station is the third to serve Christchurch. The two earlier stations were adjacent to each other on Moorhouse Avenue, a short distance to the east on the Main South Line, closer to the city centre.
History
First station
The site of Christchurch's first railway station, on Moorhouse Avenue at the bottom of Madras Street, with the 1960 station building in the background
Christchurch's first railway station was built by the Canterbury Provincial Council for its 5ft3in (1,600mm)broad-gaugerailway line between the city and the wharf at Ferrymead, opening on 1 December 1863. From 1867 the station received traffic from Lyttelton, and from the west, as the Main South Line was extended out to Addington, Rolleston, Selwyn, Rakaia, and destinations further south.
Facilities at the station were initially modest, consisting of a platform, station building, goods shed, locomotive shed, staff accommodation, a single main line and siding. It was not long before this proved to be inadequate, with an authorisation for the enlargement of the goods shed and the provision of a refreshment room forthcoming in January 1864. Later, the arrival of new locomotives resulted in the construction of additional locomotive storage, and the purchase of additional carriage stock necessitated the building of a new carriage shed. In October 1873, a new siding was laid and by 1874 a stores building with derrick had been added.[1]
Despite these improvements, the problem of a lack of storage space at the station for goods continued. This resulted in the common practice of storing goods in wagons outside the sheds. This, combined with a high staff turnover, led to theft becoming a significant problem. The colonial government received many complaints and, on bringing this to the attention of the provincial railways, was reminded of the lack of storage facilities.[2] Also of concern was the deterioration of the rolling stock. The engineer reported in late 1867 that new engineering facilities were urgently required to enable adequate attention to be given to maintenance. The opportunity was also taken to point out the unnecessarily high cost of handling goods traffic with inadequate shed and siding facilities. By early the following year, nearly the whole of the goods shed was in use for customs traffic. The situation had reached the point where an additional goods shed, grain and wool stores had become necessary. These problems persisted despite the relocation of buildings from Ferrymead to Christchurch, including the goods shed (converted to a two-floor stores building) and the refreshment room (converted to staff accommodation).[3]
Traffic volume had increased to the point where, in 1874, passenger services from Lyttelton had been separated from goods traffic. By this time, the station was considered inadequate for requirements. The general manager for the provincial railways commented in August 1874 that "The present station is generally inconvenient and much too small and cramped for the present passenger traffic. It must be enlarged if it is to remain where it is … As the building is old, enlargement would mean constructing anew".[1]
The end of the first Christchurch station coincided with the re-gauging of the provincial lines to the new colonial standard. To accommodate narrow gauge trains which were being operated in conjunction with existing broad-gauge rolling stock, a temporary platform was laid between the provincial broad-gauge station and the site of the new station in early 1876. It was first used for the departure of the first train to Timaru on 6 March 1876.[4]
In a memorandum dated 12 December 1877, the Railways Commissioner for the Middle Island instructed the general manager for Christchurch to suspend all traffic on the 20th to allow for the final re-gauging work to take place. This marked the closure of the station and its replacement by the new station that had been erected to handle narrow-gauge traffic.[5]
Proposed Christchurch city station
The distance from Christchurch station to the city centre became the source of discontent for many, leading The Press to comment that "Christchurch station would never be accepted as Christchurch except on a railway ticket". An economic recession had called a halt to the construction of the cathedral on the completion of its foundations, and so observed The Press that "A line of rails should be taken into the very heart of the city … Cathedral Square is becoming yearly more and more tempting for if we are not to have a cathedral, we might at least have a railway station".[6]
Various schemes were mooted to give the railways access to the city centre, with locations near Cathedral Square being particularly coveted for the site of a central city station. Advocacy for the northern line to run down Papanui Road, or alternately from Riccarton along Rolleston Avenue, with a station near the Botanical Gardens and a siding down Worcester or Hereford Streets "into the heart of the city" was popular with "the northerners".[7]
Interest in a central city station was deemed to be such that a group of local businessmen were prepared to invest £31,500 in such a project. They proposed to the Provincial Council in May 1872 that they construct a branch line from the Main South Line (at the point where the line curves between Gasson Street and Waltham Road) to a new station situated between Cashel Street and Lichfield Street. The line was to be double-tracked and run between Madras Street and Barbadoes Street. The terms included a clause that, on one years notice, the Provincial Council could opt to purchase the line for an agreed price of £37,000, if within three years of construction, or £25,000, if within 21 years of construction, with a covenant requiring purchase within 21 years. The Provincial Council counter-offered with an option to purchase the line at any time for £25,000. However, a more careful examination of the revenue projections for the line found them to be optimistic at best, and it was decided that any reasonable expectation of profits were to be so small as to make the venture not worth the risk.[8]
An alternative was offered by engineer Thornton, with his plan including a single-line branch running west of Colombo Street, turning west on a 15-chain curve to Durham Street, and passing by a council yard on Worcester Street. He suggested that at some point in the future the line could "be extended up Papanui Road to form a junction with the Northern railway".[9]
Given lessons learned from previous forays into capital projects, a risk-averse provincial administration ultimately avoided involvement in any of the proposed intra-city railway lines, and thus the idea of a central city station was shelved.
A contract for construction of a new station was let to James Tait for a price of £7,072. The commencement of work was marked by the laying of the foundation stone by Provincial Superintendent William Rolleston on 22 November 1876, one of his last official duties, just a week before provincial government was abolished. It was sited on Moorhouse Avenue and opened to traffic without ceremony on 21 December 1877.[10]
The station had been built to the specifications and design of Canterbury Railways engineer J. G. Warner in the Victorian neo-Gothic style, with wood and red brick being prominent construction materials.[11] One of the neighbouring buildings was formerly occupied by H. M. Customs, but later became the office of the traffic manager.[10] In addition to the main platform, there was a separate island platform connected to the former via a footbridge. Both platforms were protected from the elements by verandas.[11]
Services from this station included the boat trains, connecting with the inter-island steamer ferries out of Lyttelton (until 1976); suburban services to Lyttelton (until 1972) and Rangiora (until 1976); inter-city services to Ashburton (until 1958) and Burnham (until 1967); rural passenger services to Lincoln (until 1880) and Culverden (later Parnassus); mixed services to Little River (until 1951), Southbridge (until 1951), Springfield (until 1968), and Dunedin; railcar services to Dunedin, Picton, Little River, and the West Coast; and long-distance passenger services to Dunedin/Invercargill, the West Coast (from 1923), and Picton Express (from 1945).
Christchurch railway station building (Moorhouse Avenue)
One of the more notable events in the history of this station was the commissioning of New Zealand's first electrified suburban rail service in 1929. This service operated between Christchurch station and Lyttelton using Ec class locomotives. It was the second rail electrification project in New Zealand, after the successful electrification of the Otira Tunnel in 1923. The system reached the end of its useful life in 1970 and was scrapped. Christchurch, being the terminus of electric operations, was the point at which trains were marshalled to switch locomotives from electric to steam, and later diesel.
Plans for a replacement station were being made as far back as 1914, with approval for the project finally forthcoming in 1936. A proposed design for the new station, by W. Gray Young was included in the department's 1938 annual report, but the onset of war delayed any further work on the idea. The actual station, as built on the site of the existing station, followed the original design fairly closely differing primarily where an additional storey was added to the front of the main building. Construction was piecemeal, with the first stage being the completion of the new main platform in 1953, followed by final completion and official opening on 1 November 1960.[12][13][14][15]
The decline in popularity of rail for passenger transport and the change in handling practices for goods traffic eventually contributed to the decision to close this station and to redevelop the site for other commercial interests. The station café closed on 25 May 1990, and the station itself was sold the following year.[16]
Earthquake damage
The clock tower following the September 2010 Earthquake with the time permanently stopped at 4:35am
On 4 September 2010 the building's clock tower was damaged during an earthquake.[17] The clock was damaged during the quake and became inoperative.[18] The damage was found to be superficial and temporary repairs were made.[19]
Further damage was sustained in the earthquake on 22 February 2011.[20] Its condition was assessed and found to require significant repairs and strengthening. The cost of this work was expected to determine the fate of the building, with owner Science Alive! intending to exit the site and considering relocating to a new purpose-built building in the central city.[21] The Hoyts cinema annexe also suffered serious earthquake damage.[22]
Science Alive! determined that it was not feasible to repair the building and decided to have it demolished.[23][24] Work began in August 2012[25] and is expected to be complete by years end, with the last part of the "above ground" structure razed on 31 October.[26] Plans have been revealed for the redevelopment of the site, including a multiplex cinema, hotel, restaurant, and retail centre.[27]
Third station
Christchurch railway station building and entrance, from car park
It was decided to construct a new station that was more suitable for the current passenger traffic requirements. The old station, with its multiple passenger platforms and sidings, had been designed to cope with frequent passenger train arrivals and departures. As there were no longer any local passenger trains, and the only long-distance trains remaining were the Southerner, Coastal Pacific and the TranzAlpine, the new station was designed to cater for these services and their passengers, mainly tourists.
Station in December 2011
As the Addington railway workshops had recently closed, it was decided to reconfigure Addington junction and locate the new station on the former workshops site. The east-oriented junction, which passed by the former Addington Sale Yards, and which connected the Main North Line to the Main South Line, was removed. A new west-oriented link was established, on which the new station was sited.[28] It was opened on 5 April 1993,[16] and now shares the former workshops land with the Tower Junction shopping centre. In 2002, the Southerner service was cancelled leaving the station with the TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific as its only scheduled services.
Today
Railway workers' memorial, former Christchurch railway station, Moorhouse AvenueThe site of the former Moorhouse Avenue railway station in December 2012 after demolition.
There is no trace of the provincial council broad-gauge station. The site on which it once stood has been developed for commercial interests.
After the second station was sold in the early 1990s, the station yard was redeveloped as a commercial precinct. The station building remained until it was damaged by the earthquake of 22 February 2011. As a commercial precinct the building housed retailers, including the Science Alive! exhibition and a Hoyts multiplex cinema (for which the building had to be extended). The building was registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and is currently owned by the New Zealand Science and Technology Charitable Trust.[17] The former yard area immediately behind the station building where the passenger platforms used to be became a customer car park. The remainder of the yard area is home to various commercial premises. There were a few clues at the site to remind one of the areas former purpose, including the building's dedication plaque, a railway workers memorial, and the main platform edge facing the car park behind the building.
A 2005 report commissioned by Environment Canterbury into the possibility of re-establishing passenger trains in Christchurch included an option that would involve an underground city loop track and new central railway station, but dismissed it as unjustifiable on cost/benefit grounds.[29]
Ferrymead is a suburb south-east of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the main thoroughfare for reaching the eastern sea suburbs such as Sumner, as well as home to a number of cliff-top residences and businesses along the estuary front. After the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, a number of prominent Christchurch businesses relocated to the Ferrymead area, making it into a secondary business hub.
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and was closed shortly thereafter. In 1964, rail enthusiasts began relaying track on the historic formation and the new 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge. Ferrymead Railway officially reopened in 1977. It now operates steam, diesel and electric trains regularly and is recognised as one of the most significant rail preservation sites in New Zealand.
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, accounting for more than half of rail revenue.
Salisbury railway station serves the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR), and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. It is one of the most important railway lines in New Zealand and was one of the first to be built, with construction commencing in the 1860s. At Christchurch, it connects with the Main North Line to Picton, the other part of the South Island Main Trunk.
The Methven Branch was a branch line railway that was part of New Zealand's national rail network in Canterbury. It opened in 1880 and operated until 1976.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
The Canterbury Provincial Railways was an early part of the railways of New Zealand. Built by the Canterbury Provincial government mainly to the broad gauge of 5 ft 3 in, the railway reached most of the Canterbury region by the time the province was abolished in 1876. Edward Dobson, the Provincial Engineer from 1854 to 1868, was the designer and overseer.
The Oxford Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network. It was located in the Canterbury region of the South Island, and ran roughly parallel with the Eyreton Branch that was located some ten kilometres south. It opened to Oxford in 1875 and survived until 1959.
The Southbridge Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network. It was located in the Canterbury region of the South Island and operated from 1875 until 1967. Five kilometres of the line remains open as the Hornby Branch, formerly the Hornby Industrial Line.
The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway.
The Main North Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk railway, is a railway line that runs north from Christchurch in New Zealand up the east coast of the South Island through Kaikōura and Blenheim to Picton. It is a major link in New Zealand's national rail network and offers a connection with roll-on roll-off ferries from Picton to Wellington. It was also the longest railway construction project in New Zealand's history, with the first stages built in the 1870s and not completed until 1945.
The Picton Express was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Christchurch and Picton. It ran from December 1945 until February 1956, and was thus the shortest-lived provincial express in New Zealand. Following the end of railcar services in 1976, a new carriage train between Christchurch and Picton began, under the same name as the earlier service, until it was replaced in 1988 by the Coastal Pacific Express.
The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is the country's oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on the Lyttelton Line, one of the first railways built by Canterbury Provincial Railways.
Rail transport in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand's South Island, consists of two main trunk railway lines intersecting in the suburb of Addington, carrying mainly long-haul freight traffic but also two long distance tourist-oriented passenger trains. The two lines are the Main North Line and Main South Line, collectively but unofficially known as the South Island Main Trunk Railway. There is a heritage line at the Ferrymead Historic Park that is operated with steam, electric, and diesel motive power hauling tourist-oriented services.
Lyttelton Line is a name sometimes used to refer to the section of the Main South Line in New Zealand's South Island between Lyttelton and Christchurch, and can also be used to refer to the operations on this section. As it has always been part of the Main South Line, this name has never been officially used to refer to the track itself.
Lyttelton railway station is the northern terminus of the Main South Line, a main trunk railway line from Lyttelton to Invercargill in the South Island of New Zealand. There have been three stations built at Lyttelton, with the most recent of these still being used for railway purposes.
The Kapuni Branch, formerly known as the Opunake Branch, is a branch railway in North Island, New Zealand. It opened in 1926, and ran 36.4 km across the southern slopes of Mount Taranaki to link the rural town of Ōpunake with the Marton–New Plymouth Line 2 km north of the small rural settlement of Te Roti, equidistant between Eltham and Hāwera. With the decline of rural freight, part of the line was closed in 1976, but the 10.9 km section to Kapuni was retained and upgraded to service traffic to the Kapuni natural gas field.
Papanui railway station served the suburb of Papanui in northern Christchurch, New Zealand. It was on the Main North Line between the stations of Bryndwr and Styx, 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) north of Addington Junction. The station handled freight and passenger traffic from when it opened in 1872 until closing in the late 20th century, and from 1880 was the site of an interchange between passenger rail and trams until the 1930s.
References
Citations
1 2 Pierre, William Antonin (1964). "General View". Canterbury Provincial Railways. Wellington: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society. p.5.
↑ Pierre, William Antonin. "Battle For Control". Canterbury Provincial Railways. pp.28–29.
↑ Pierre, William Antonin. "General View". Canterbury Provincial Railways. p.10.
↑ Pierre, William Antonin. "General View". Canterbury Provincial Railways. p.6. The new platform was the third constructed. A temporary one, 100 ft long, had been built for the narrow-gauge southern traffic at the New Year of 1876, and was used for the departure of the first through train to Timaru on March 6 of that year.
↑ Pierre, William Antonin. "General View". Canterbury Provincial Railways. p.17. broad-gauge lines received their quietus in a memorandum of December 12, 1877, from the Commissioner of Railways, Middle Island, to the General Manager, Christchurch, "It will be necessary for you to advertise that all traffic will be suspended on the North line on the 20th inst. – also that on and after the 21st, the new passenger station will be used for all passenger traffic – north, south and Lyttelton. – (Sgd) Wm Conyers." The suspension was to permit final conversion; the new passenger station accommodated the narrow-gauge trains.
1 2 Mahoney, J. D. (1987). "The main city stations". Down at the Station: A study of the New Zealand Railway Station. Palmerston North: The Dunmore Press. pp.108–110. ISBN0-86469-060-6.
↑ Passenger Terminal and Administrative Centre Combined in Modern Building Railway Transportation July 1961 pages 27-29, 48
↑ Mahoney, J. D. "The main city stations". Down at the Station: A study of the New Zealand Railway Station. p.112.
1 2 Churchman, Geoffrey B. (2001) [1990]. "Chapter Thirteen: Canterbury". The Railways of New Zealand: A journey through history (seconded.). Wellington: Transpress New Zealand. p.176. ISBN0-908876-20-3. In 1991 the comparatively modern Christchurch station was sold and replaced by a new station on the old Addington Workshops site, opened on 5 April 1993.
↑ Williams, Philippa; Cullen Smith (30 March 2011). "Town hall fate in balance". Star Canterbury. Christchurch: APN News & Media. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
↑ Churchman, Geoffrey B.; Hurst, Tony (1992). "Developments since 1970". South Island Main Trunk. Wellington: IPL Books. p.32. ISBN0-908876-78-5. ... it is likely that once the direct north line-south line link is installed at Addington ...
↑ Leach, James (23 June 2005). "Proposed Introduction of Commuter Rail Services to Christchurch City and Environs". Greater Christchurch Commuter Rail Planning Workshop. Christchurch: Environment Canterbury.
Bibliography
Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Seconded.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN0-908876-20-3.
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