Parnell Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Parnell Tunnel is a railway tunnel under Parnell
, Auckland
, New Zealand
. It is 344.5 metres (1,130.2 ft) long, and allows the Western
and Southern
lines coming from Newmarket Train Station
to Britomart Transport Centre
to pass under the Parnell Ridge before the line drops to harbour level. In fact, the Parnell Tunnel is composed of two tunnels, an older single-track tunnel and a newer double-track tunnel, though the entrances to the older tunnel are closed and it has not been in use for most of the last century.
The tunnel, originally intended at least in part to provide a connection to Drury
for the New Zealand land wars
, has been lauded as having enabled the first public railway line in Auckland, and opening the city up to the wider New Zealand.
The first tunnel and its approach were relatively steep, often requiring double engines to pull the trains and there are records of the "inconvenient habit" of some "well-loaded" passenger trains coming to a standstill on the gradient in the tunnel. The tunnel was also apparently known for forcing large amounts of steam locomotive fumes into the passenger coaches. During events like Cup Day at Ellerslie Racecourse
, when extra trains needed to be provided for the large numbers of travellers (with the trains often composed of open cattle trucks) the sparks thrown by the locomotives tended to rebound into open carriages, often causing burn holes in passengers' clothing. The newspapers of the time often commented on this in sarcastic form.
Due to these drawbacks, after construction of the second tunnel, the old tunnel was quickly demoted to only serve for shunting and non-passenger traffic and was eventually closed fully (sometime after 1930). In World War II, it was temporarily converted into an air-raid shelter for Parnell residents, with baffle gates across the entries to protect against blasts.
In the 1900s, it became increasingly clear, that the single-track tunnel, despite having a double-track railway line at the northern end, was creating significant 'delay, discomfort and danger'. When in 1905 the government of the time declared that the line to Penrose
would be duplicated, many Aucklanders reacted angrily when it was later clarified that this would not include a tunnel duplication.
The then Minister of Railways
, Joseph Ward
, argued that his staff had convinced him that it was not [yet] essential to duplicate the tunnel to remediate the delays. However, in a strange twist, he also moved at the end of a meeting with a 200-strong citizens deputation that if "ten representative [business]men", selected by the Mayor of Auckland, would traverse the section with him, and then ask for the tunnel duplication, he would be willing to proceed with it. At the time, it seems that Aucklanders agreed that with the duplication from Newmarket to Penrose Train Station
still pending, duplication of the tunnel via this scheme would not be seemly.
In 1910, with former minister Ward having become New Zealand's 17th Prime Minister - and with the Newmarket-Parnell side of the tunnel now also duplicated - Clr Mackay of Auckland City Council
resurrected the old pledge made by Ward. Newspapers of the time noted that while the duplication was certainly necessary, it remained unseemly to bring about the second tunnel in this way, with a "stacked" body of men asking for it, despite the definite way in which Ward had phrased his pledge - leaving him no honorable alternative to now decline it.
The 10-men committee was indeed formed in 1910, and apparently investigated in detail, in the face of continuing government resistance. In the end, in 1911, only 7 of them recommended duplication, with the 3 members opposed. The opposition was possibly caused by the concern that the tunnel duplication would prevent a goods shed expansion, and because it had been advised that timetabling could work around the limitations of the single-track tunnel. Government had previously argued that up to 240 trains daily (one every 6 minutes) could be run through the single-track tunnel, and thus, the cost of £35,000-£40,000 for the duplication was not merited when other projects were of greater importance. Due to the lack of unanimous agreement - and because the Railways Department argued the tunnel could take twice the traffic using it at the time - duplication was again declined.
However, there was considerable discontent in Auckland during the 1900s/1910s that the government was proceeding with major tunneling works in the South Island, such as at Arthur's Pass
, while arguing that there was no funding available for the Parnell Tunnel. Groups like the Chamber of Commerce lobbied strenuously for the duplication.
At the same time, proposals to either take a new line up Grafton Gully
, or build a new line via Orakei
(which was eventually constructed as the Eastern Line
), thus avoiding the almost 1:50 gradient up to the Parnell Tunnel, may have contributed to doubts as to whether the tunnel should be duplicated. There was also a perception by the minister of the day that additional freight traffic generated by the North Auckland Line would not be worth considering as an argument for the tunnel, as it would be extremely limited.
While duplication was finally noted as 'definitely agreed' in 1912, funding was not immediately found. However, the impending move of the engine sheds for the railway from Auckland Railway Station
to the Newmarket Workshops
also increased pressure to ensure the duplication.
Construction
A new tunnel, able to carry a double set of tracks, was finally built over the 1914/1915 period. The first preparatory works occurred around April 1914, widening the approaches to the tunnel, and the first air shaft connecting the two drives was pierced through in January 1915. From initially 50 people, the workforce had by then expanded to 140.
Approximately 25,000 cubic yards of earth were removed for the tunnel, for a shaft 25feet 9 inch wide, and 18feet 2 inch high. The walls were constructed in concrete, and almost three quarters of a million bricks were used for the arch, in 4-6 layers. The second tunnel was also constructed to a less challenging gradient than the first.
The tunnel was immediately lauded for the improvements to rail efficiency and safety, now allowing double tracks over the whole line from Britomart and Penrose. By 1926, about 150 trains were passing through the tunnel each day.
Upgrades
In January 2010, the tracks within the Parnell Tunnel were removed during a summer network closure, and the tunnel floor lowered by between 20 and 35 cm, to prepare the tunnel for the coming electrification of the Auckland rail network
. Stormwater drainage was also improved as part of the work, with the insufficient quality of the drains (and the earlier attempts to fix them) having forced authorities to place speed restrictions on the tunnel in the past.
In 1907, a young bank teller apparently lost his footing while crossing from one carriage to another, and was later found dead in the tunnel.
In 1915, a railway worker was killed when accidentally stepping onto the track near the tunnel portal.
In 1920, a woman fell from a train carriage near the tunnel entry, and was run over by the train, dying eight days later.
In 1921, a prisoner escaped through a lavatory window while the train was making its way up the hill near the northern portal of the tunnel, and made his getaway successfully. He was recaptured three weeks later.
In 1926, another prisoner escpaped in the same general location from a train on which he was being brought to stand trial in Rotorua. The prisoner had been allowed to enter a lavatory without handcuffs once the train had entered the tunnel, and attacked his guard with a kick, allowing him to lock the lavatory door and subsequently smash open the window. A police search party was organised which eventually entered the tunnel to check whether the fugitive had taken refuge there. A train entered the tunnel from the CBD side while the search party was in the tunnel, and though the policemen quickly moved onto the opposing track, the concurrent appearance of a speedy train from the Newmarket side forced them to take whatever shelter they could on the floor of the tunnel or pressed against the tunnel sides. During the passage of the train, one of the policemen, Constable Begg, was struck, receiving arm, leg and head injuries from some part of the undercarriage of the train, and died subsequently in hospital.
Later in 1926, a railway worker was killed within the tunnel, again having been struck by a train and sustained leg and head injuries. He died from them the next day. His death was ruled an accident, as he should not have entered the tunnel until the smoke (of a previous train) had cleared.
In 1929, a naval prisoner being escorted on a train made an escape through a window while the train taking him to Wellington made its slow way up the incline leading to the tunnel on the northern side, a case very similar to the 1921 and 1926 escapes.
Parnell, New Zealand
Parnell is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the European settlement of Auckland in 1841...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is 344.5 metres (1,130.2 ft) long, and allows the Western
Western Line, Auckland
The Western Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to suburban services that operate between Britomart and Waitakere via Newmarket.-Routing:...
and Southern
Southern Line, Auckland
The Southern Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to suburban train services that operate between Britomart and Pukekohe via Newmarket.-Routing:...
lines coming from Newmarket Train Station
Newmarket Train Station, Auckland
Newmarket Train Station is located in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Newmarket, on the Southern and Western Lines of the Auckland railway network. Serving the busy commercial centre of Newmarket, the station is the second-busiest train station in Auckland, after Britomart...
to Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
to pass under the Parnell Ridge before the line drops to harbour level. In fact, the Parnell Tunnel is composed of two tunnels, an older single-track tunnel and a newer double-track tunnel, though the entrances to the older tunnel are closed and it has not been in use for most of the last century.
The tunnel, originally intended at least in part to provide a connection to Drury
Drury, New Zealand
Drury is a rural town near Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Located 36 kilometres to the south of Auckland CBD, under authority of the Auckland Council. Drury lies at the southern border of the Auckland metropolitan area, 12 kilometres to the northeast of Pukekohe, close to the Papakura Channel,...
for the New Zealand land wars
New Zealand land wars
The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
, has been lauded as having enabled the first public railway line in Auckland, and opening the city up to the wider New Zealand.
First tunnel
The first tunnel shaft was constructed as part of the initial construction of the line. However, works took very long, 9 years, having been started in 1864. This was partly due to funding issues, but also due to a massive land slip which occurred at the northern end, with investigation of the causes and removal of the slip holding up the works for a long time. After the tunnel was pierced through in June 1872, work speeded up, and it was finished in February 1873.The first tunnel and its approach were relatively steep, often requiring double engines to pull the trains and there are records of the "inconvenient habit" of some "well-loaded" passenger trains coming to a standstill on the gradient in the tunnel. The tunnel was also apparently known for forcing large amounts of steam locomotive fumes into the passenger coaches. During events like Cup Day at Ellerslie Racecourse
Ellerslie Racecourse
Ellerslie Racecourse is the main racecourse in Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand for thoroughbred racehorses. It is an undulating, grass circuit of approximately 1,900 m.-History:The first race meeting was held at Ellerslie on 25 May 1874...
, when extra trains needed to be provided for the large numbers of travellers (with the trains often composed of open cattle trucks) the sparks thrown by the locomotives tended to rebound into open carriages, often causing burn holes in passengers' clothing. The newspapers of the time often commented on this in sarcastic form.
Due to these drawbacks, after construction of the second tunnel, the old tunnel was quickly demoted to only serve for shunting and non-passenger traffic and was eventually closed fully (sometime after 1930). In World War II, it was temporarily converted into an air-raid shelter for Parnell residents, with baffle gates across the entries to protect against blasts.
Second tunnel
CampaignIn the 1900s, it became increasingly clear, that the single-track tunnel, despite having a double-track railway line at the northern end, was creating significant 'delay, discomfort and danger'. When in 1905 the government of the time declared that the line to Penrose
Penrose, New Zealand
Penrose is an industrial suburb in Auckland City, New Zealand. It is located to the southeast of the city centre, at a distance of about nine kilometres, between the suburbs of Oranga and Mount Wellington, and close to the Mangere Inlet, an arm of the Manukau Harbour...
would be duplicated, many Aucklanders reacted angrily when it was later clarified that this would not include a tunnel duplication.
The then Minister of Railways
Minister of Railways (New Zealand)
The Minister of Railways was the minister in the government responsible for the New Zealand Railways Department 1895–1981, the New Zealand Railways Corporation 1981–1993, and New Zealand Rail Limited 1990–1993...
, Joseph Ward
Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, GCMG was the 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
, argued that his staff had convinced him that it was not [yet] essential to duplicate the tunnel to remediate the delays. However, in a strange twist, he also moved at the end of a meeting with a 200-strong citizens deputation that if "ten representative [business]men", selected by the Mayor of Auckland, would traverse the section with him, and then ask for the tunnel duplication, he would be willing to proceed with it. At the time, it seems that Aucklanders agreed that with the duplication from Newmarket to Penrose Train Station
Penrose Train Station
Penrose Station is a station in Penrose, Auckland City, on the Southern Line of the Auckland railway network. It has an island platform and is reached by an over bridge from Station Road and Great South Road. It still has its original wooden station building on the platform. There is also an...
still pending, duplication of the tunnel via this scheme would not be seemly.
In 1910, with former minister Ward having become New Zealand's 17th Prime Minister - and with the Newmarket-Parnell side of the tunnel now also duplicated - Clr Mackay of Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...
resurrected the old pledge made by Ward. Newspapers of the time noted that while the duplication was certainly necessary, it remained unseemly to bring about the second tunnel in this way, with a "stacked" body of men asking for it, despite the definite way in which Ward had phrased his pledge - leaving him no honorable alternative to now decline it.
The 10-men committee was indeed formed in 1910, and apparently investigated in detail, in the face of continuing government resistance. In the end, in 1911, only 7 of them recommended duplication, with the 3 members opposed. The opposition was possibly caused by the concern that the tunnel duplication would prevent a goods shed expansion, and because it had been advised that timetabling could work around the limitations of the single-track tunnel. Government had previously argued that up to 240 trains daily (one every 6 minutes) could be run through the single-track tunnel, and thus, the cost of £35,000-£40,000 for the duplication was not merited when other projects were of greater importance. Due to the lack of unanimous agreement - and because the Railways Department argued the tunnel could take twice the traffic using it at the time - duplication was again declined.
However, there was considerable discontent in Auckland during the 1900s/1910s that the government was proceeding with major tunneling works in the South Island, such as at Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It marks part of the boundary between the West Coast and Canterbury regions, 140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth. The pass lies in a saddle between the valleys of the Otira River, a...
, while arguing that there was no funding available for the Parnell Tunnel. Groups like the Chamber of Commerce lobbied strenuously for the duplication.
At the same time, proposals to either take a new line up Grafton Gully
Grafton Gully
Grafton Gully is a deep and very wide gully cutting northwards through the volcanic hills of the Auckland Volcanic Field in Auckland, New Zealand. It divides the CBD of the city from the suburbs of Grafton and Parnell in the east.Grafton Gully is crossed by Grafton Bridge near its south end...
, or build a new line via Orakei
Orakei
Orakei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, close to the shore of the Waitemata Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and the Orakei Basin, two arms of the Waitemata, which lie to...
(which was eventually constructed as the Eastern Line
Eastern Line, Auckland
The Eastern Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to Auckland suburban part of the North Island Main Trunk. Suburban services are operated by Veolia under the MAXX brand...
), thus avoiding the almost 1:50 gradient up to the Parnell Tunnel, may have contributed to doubts as to whether the tunnel should be duplicated. There was also a perception by the minister of the day that additional freight traffic generated by the North Auckland Line would not be worth considering as an argument for the tunnel, as it would be extremely limited.
While duplication was finally noted as 'definitely agreed' in 1912, funding was not immediately found. However, the impending move of the engine sheds for the railway from Auckland Railway Station
Auckland railway station
Auckland Railway Station is the former main railway station of Auckland, New Zealand, and is located on the eastern edge of the Auckland CBD near Mechanics Bay...
to the Newmarket Workshops
Newmarket Workshops
Newmarket Workshops in Auckland was a major New Zealand Railways Department facility, one of 13 workshops nationwide. It was one of two main railway workshops of Auckland, used mainly for maintenance; the older facility at Newmarket was replaced in 1929 by Otahuhu Workshops.- First Workshops :The...
also increased pressure to ensure the duplication.
Construction
A new tunnel, able to carry a double set of tracks, was finally built over the 1914/1915 period. The first preparatory works occurred around April 1914, widening the approaches to the tunnel, and the first air shaft connecting the two drives was pierced through in January 1915. From initially 50 people, the workforce had by then expanded to 140.
Approximately 25,000 cubic yards of earth were removed for the tunnel, for a shaft 25feet 9 inch wide, and 18feet 2 inch high. The walls were constructed in concrete, and almost three quarters of a million bricks were used for the arch, in 4-6 layers. The second tunnel was also constructed to a less challenging gradient than the first.
The tunnel was immediately lauded for the improvements to rail efficiency and safety, now allowing double tracks over the whole line from Britomart and Penrose. By 1926, about 150 trains were passing through the tunnel each day.
Upgrades
In January 2010, the tracks within the Parnell Tunnel were removed during a summer network closure, and the tunnel floor lowered by between 20 and 35 cm, to prepare the tunnel for the coming electrification of the Auckland rail network
Auckland Railway electrification
The Auckland railway electrification has been proposed for several decades, but physical works only began in the late 2000s. After investment into new infrastructure and improved services created massive patronage gains on Auckland's commuter rail network in the middle 2000s, the long-discussed...
. Stormwater drainage was also improved as part of the work, with the insufficient quality of the drains (and the earlier attempts to fix them) having forced authorities to place speed restrictions on the tunnel in the past.
Incidents
During its long history, the tunnel and the immediate area saw a number of significant incidents, including a number of deaths. The tunnel and the steep slow-speed slope leading up to the tunnel from the north, surrounded by thick vegetation, was also known for prisoners escaping from trains on which they were being transported.In 1907, a young bank teller apparently lost his footing while crossing from one carriage to another, and was later found dead in the tunnel.
In 1915, a railway worker was killed when accidentally stepping onto the track near the tunnel portal.
In 1920, a woman fell from a train carriage near the tunnel entry, and was run over by the train, dying eight days later.
In 1921, a prisoner escaped through a lavatory window while the train was making its way up the hill near the northern portal of the tunnel, and made his getaway successfully. He was recaptured three weeks later.
In 1926, another prisoner escpaped in the same general location from a train on which he was being brought to stand trial in Rotorua. The prisoner had been allowed to enter a lavatory without handcuffs once the train had entered the tunnel, and attacked his guard with a kick, allowing him to lock the lavatory door and subsequently smash open the window. A police search party was organised which eventually entered the tunnel to check whether the fugitive had taken refuge there. A train entered the tunnel from the CBD side while the search party was in the tunnel, and though the policemen quickly moved onto the opposing track, the concurrent appearance of a speedy train from the Newmarket side forced them to take whatever shelter they could on the floor of the tunnel or pressed against the tunnel sides. During the passage of the train, one of the policemen, Constable Begg, was struck, receiving arm, leg and head injuries from some part of the undercarriage of the train, and died subsequently in hospital.
Later in 1926, a railway worker was killed within the tunnel, again having been struck by a train and sustained leg and head injuries. He died from them the next day. His death was ruled an accident, as he should not have entered the tunnel until the smoke (of a previous train) had cleared.
In 1929, a naval prisoner being escorted on a train made an escape through a window while the train taking him to Wellington made its slow way up the incline leading to the tunnel on the northern side, a case very similar to the 1921 and 1926 escapes.