Hamilton railway station (New Zealand) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hamilton
1980 – the 1975 Hamilton station in the middle distance, the 1909 Frankton Junction being demolished in the foreground. ECMT and NIMT branching to left and right respectively. The pre-1909 station was between the later stations.
Location	Fraser Street, Hamilton New Zealand
Coordinates	37°47′30″S 175°15′55″E / 37.791611°S 175.26536°E / -37.791611; 175.26536
Owned by	KiwiRail
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Platforms	2
Connections	East Coast Main Trunk (goods only)
Construction
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	19 December 1877
Rebuilt	1975
Electrified	25 kV 50 Hz AC June 1988
Previous names	Hamilton, Hamilton Junction (20 October 1879 – 1 October 1884), Frankton Junction (1884–1955), Frankton (1955-20/7/1975)
Services
Preceding station   KiwiRail   Following station Rotokauri toward Papakura Te Huia Terminus The Great Journeys of New Zealand Papakura toward Auckland Strand Northern Explorer Otorohanga toward Wellington

Hamilton railway station serves the city of Hamilton in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It is located in the suburb of Frankton, hence the station's former name Frankton Junction, its name for most of its existence. The station is located at the junction of the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) and East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) lines. Only the NIMT still carries passenger services, which consist only of Northern Explorer services between Auckland and Wellington on six days of the week and the regional Te Huia service, which runs to Auckland via Rotokauri Transport Hub and Huntly railway station twice daily in the morning, with return services in the evening.

History

Frankton Junction station consisted of an island platform located on the NIMT just north of the junction between the ECMT and NIMT. It had two signal boxes, and a locomotive depot was located in the Vee of the junction. In 1909 a new, larger station was built to cope with the extra traffic of the through line to Wellington, 16 chains (1,100 ft; 320 m) to the north. The first Auckland - Wellington through expresses ran on 14 February 1909, taking 19 hours 13 minutes, and stopping at Frankton.

Due to the end of steam operation in the North Island in 1968, the depot was closed and a new station was opened on its site in 1975 with a side platform on each line. The station was renamed to its present name at that time. The listed Frankton South End signalbox was relocated to the Hamilton Miniature Engineers' site at Minogue Park, opposite the new Te Rapa loco depot.

The station was important in the growth of Hamilton and historically the trains calling included The Overlander, Blue Streak, Scenic Daylight, Daylight Limited, Northerner, Silver Star, Night Limited, Waikato Connection, Rotorua Express, Geyserland Express, Thames Express, Taneatua Express and Kaimai Express.

The scale of past use of the station is indicated by a 1936 report that 3 months' revenue was £7065 for tickets (27,025 sold), £1482 for parcels and £24,143 for goods, including 43,357 sheep, 5,849 cattle and 1,756,450 feet of timber. The 2016 equivalent would be about $15m a year.

tickets sales 1882–1950 – derived from annual returns to Parliament of "Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended"

Traffic grew steadily, as shown in the graph and table below.

Services

About 2008, the canopy over platform 1 (NIMT) was reduced in length. The ECMT carries no passenger services and its platform (platform 2) is used infrequently by excursion trains.

Passenger services are limited to the Northern Explorer, which replaced The Overlander in 2012. Previous services include the Kaimai Express and Geyserland Express railcars to Tauranga and Rotorua (Koutu) respectively, which were cancelled in 2002, and the overnight Northerner, which ceased operation in 2004 under Toll Rail.

The Waikato Connection commuter service to Auckland ran in 2000 and 2001. It is planned to reintroduce a similar service in early 2021 using refurbished SA and SD coaches; initially to Papakura railway station. This proposed service, to commence from early 2021, has been branded as Te Huia.

Northern Explorer at Hamilton in 2018 heading south

Hamilton station from Massey Hall bridge, showing the NIMT platform (right) and ECMT (left). In 2006, the station still had the long canopy over the platforms

Frankton Junction about 1915

AARD Hudson buses at Frankton Junction early 1920s loaded with mailbags. The 1937 link shows that the station then had many bus connections. No bus now serves the station.

Northern Explorer at Hamilton in 2012, ready to depart for Auckland. Most of the platform canopy was removed about 2008.

Plaque next to main entrance – opened by Ron Bailey 6 August 1975

Mural of Claudelands Bridge on ECML platform

A 25-minute walk to the city centre, 7 minutes on the Western Rail Trail, or 5 minute walk to the half-hourly bus