Runciman railway station
Defunct railway station in Auckland, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Runciman railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk line in New Zealand,[4][5] serving an area which had been sold by James Runciman in 1864.[6] The station opened to goods traffic in 1879, then to passengers in 1882.[7][2][1]
Runciman railway station | |||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Drury, New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37.115800°S 174.942600°E | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 13 m (43 ft) | ||||||||||
| Line | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
| Distance | Wellington 638.37 km (396.66 mi) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1879[1] | ||||||||||
| Closed | 8 December 1918[1][2] | ||||||||||
| Former names | briefly Oira in 1909[1][3] | ||||||||||
| Adjacent stations | |||||||||||
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The under-construction Ngakoroa train station, also in the wider Runciman area, is situated roughly 1km from the former station, and during planning was sometimes referred to as Runciman station.[8]
History
The Auckland and Drury Railway Act 1863 had been passed by Parliament "to enable the Superintendent of the Province of Auckland to construct a Railway between the Towns of Auckland and Drury with a Branch to Onehunga in the said Province."[9] Later plans extended the terminus to Mercer.[7]
Although the line was complete by late 1873,[10] the first passenger train didn't run until 7 October 1874[11] and complaint continued about delays in opening the line.[12] Possibly the delay was due to threats to blockade the line to force trains to stop at Runciman.[13][original research?] There was debate about the location of the station as early as 1874.[14][original research?]
The station opened to goods traffic on 28 July 1879, then to passengers circa April 1882.[7][1]
The name was briefly changed to Oira on 3 January 1909, then back to Runciman on 9 August 1909.[1][3]
Until 1917 Runciman station was next to a level crossing on the Great South Rd. Work then began to replace the crossing with a bridge, ease the gradient and build a new Drury central station,[15] despite a protest petition[16] about the move.[17][original research?]
The station closed on 8 December 1918,[1] replaced by Drury railway station which opened the next day.[2]
See also
- Drury Train Station replaced the former station in 1918.
- Ngakoroa Train Station under-construction in 2026, situated roughly 1km from the former station.
- Public transport in Auckland
- List of Auckland railway stations
