Railway Line Alterations Place Name Report
The report considered by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) at its meeting on 27 March 2009.
(altered railway line names)
- Stillwater-Ngakawau Line (West Coast of the South Island)
- Dargaville Branch (North Auckland)
- Napier Port Branch (Napier)
- Onehunga Branch (Auckland)
- Southdown Branch (Auckland)
General Background
The submitter is Ontrack, who seek to make the following alterations to railway line names:
- Stillwater-Westport Line to Stillwater-Ngakawau Line
- Dargaville Industrial Siding to Dargaville Branch
- Napier Freight Branch to Napier Port Branch
- Onehunga Industrial Line to Onehunga Branch
- Auckland Freight Branch to Southdown Branch.
Ontrack advise that during the 1990s many short railway lines were renamed ‘Freight Branch lines’to reflect the fact that passenger services did not run on these lines, and that the lines serviced New Zealand Railway Freight branches. However, with the concept of containerisation, and the use of container transfer sites, freight centres no longer exist in their original concept. Ontrack propose that by renaming Freight Branch lines simply ‘Branch Lines’, it will reflect the current situation.
Ontrack point out that the proposed alteration of the Stillwater-Westport Line to the Stillwater-Ngakawau Line will reflect the fact that the Ngakawau branch line has been incorporated into the existing Stillwater to Westport Line.
Dargaville Industrial Siding has not been gazetted; however, there is a gazette notice for Dargaville Industrial Line (refer to NZ Gazette 1996 (94) p.2470). The other lines have been gazetted:
| Name | Description of Place | Statutory Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Onehunga Industrial Line | Waiotira to Dargaville | NZ Gazette 1996 (94) p.2470 |
| Auckland Freight Branch | Westfield to Auckland Freight | NZ Gazette 1996 (94) p.2470 |
| Napier Freight Branch | Napier Junction to Napier Port | NZ Gazette 1996 (94) p.2470 |
| Stillwater-Westport Line | Railway line from Stillwater to Ngakawau via Westport. A new line which incorporates the old Ngakawau branch line into the existing Stillwater to Westport Line | NZ Gazette 1998 (1) p.78 |
Documentary evidence supporting the proposals has been supplied by KiwiRail who are major users of all of the lines, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, and Veolia Transport, who will become a major user of the Onehunga Branch on the introduction of passenger services in 2010.
The submitter has not provided evidence of consultation with each local iwi. Te Puni Kōkiri and Ngāi Tahu may provide feedback at the Board meeting.
None of the features are located within a Crown Protected Area.
The Board should consider whether macrons apply to the Māori names of Onehunga and Ngakawau.
The extents of each of these lines have been confirmed by Ontrack, and match the extents of the former line names.
Maps
For larger scale versions of these maps please refer to the pdf version of the place name report for railway branch and line alterations (pdf 1.36MB).
NZGB - Summary Report - Various line alterations - Dargaville et al.doc for Meeting of 27 March 2009 LINZ file reference: GES-N15-07-09/117/01
