The station was opened on 20 May 1875, as part of the Auckland and Mercer Railway on 20 May 1875, built by Brogden & Co,[4] when it was extended from Penrose.[5] On 2 October 1874 a deputation asked for the contractor to run trains from Penrose to Papakura[6] and some services were available from October 1874.[1] For example, Brogden & Sons ran excursion trains to Drury that month.[7]
Initially Papakura was served by 2 trains a day.[8] By 1879 there were 3 trains a day, the fastest taking 1hr 9mins for the 19 mi (31 km) from Auckland.[9] Papakura became the terminus of an improved suburban service in 1913.[10]WAB Class locomotives were introduced to suburban services in 1922,[11] but the coaching stock appears from photos to have been unchanged in 1966.[12] With double tracking, suburban trains were speeded up in 1931, the fastest taking 49 minutes.[13] Suburban Sunday trains at low fares were introduced in 1933.[14] From 1938[15] to 1950[6] many trains carried troops to and from the Military Camp.[16][17] Trains calling at Papakura have included The Overlander, Northerner (in 1975 the platform was extended to 200 m (660 ft) for the Northerner),[6]Northern Explorer, Silver Fern (from 19 September 1977),[6]Waikato Connection, Geyserland Express, Thames Express (from 1921),[18]Taneatua Express and Kaimai Express.
Plantations were established near many railway stations for beautification[19] and, possibly, to provide timber for railway construction.[20] Papakura's railway reserve was planted in 1883,[21] with oaks[22] and blue gums, and was protected in 1935.[23] It was renamed Massey Park in 1939.[24] Some of the trees remain.[25]
By 1884 Papakura had a 4th class station, platform, cart approach, 60 ft (18 m) by 30 ft (9.1 m) goods shed (extended by 80 ft (24 m) in 1921), loading bank, cattle yards, stationmaster's house, urinals and a passing loop for 37 wagons (extended to 70 in 1905). From 1882 to 1913 a Post Office was run by railway staff.[6] In 1885 the station was moved 4 ch (80 m) to the other side of the line.[26] A verandah was added in 1905, sheep yards in 1911 and an engine shed between 1913 and 1917.[6]
In 1920 the first sod was turned for a new station.[27] In 1921 a new yard came into use, with a siding capacity of 450 wagons, together with an island platform, station building, a 55 ft (17 m) turntable replaced by one of 18.9 m (62 ft) by 1988)[6] and several railway houses. By 1922 only the overhead footbridges were unfinished and the old building was being removed.[27] Electric replaced oil lamps in 1926.[28] With increasing suburban traffic, work started in 1938 on a new ticket office,[29] carpark,[30] bridge and platform.[31] On 9 September 1940 a new 400 ft (120 m) suburban platform on the west of the station was brought into use. The station building was again rebuilt in 1983.[6]
Duplication of the tracks between Papatoetoe and Papakura started in 1929 as an employment relief scheme[34] and was completed on 29 March 1931. Doubling between Papakura and Paerata was completed on 3 December 1939.[6]
On 3 November 1986 Papakura closed to goods traffic, but re-opened temporarily in 1987 to take glass for recycling. A report in 1987 said the goods shed and a shunting tractor had been removed, but another in 1990 said there was a goods shed.[6]
Prior to October 2012, the station had an island platform between the main lines, complete with original wooden station building and signal panel, and a suburban side platform to the west. It had a bowstring footbridge connecting the platforms, which dated from at least the 1930s, constructed of old railway iron and sleepers.[35]
Prior to December 2014, Eastern Line trains terminated at Papakura. After the opening of Manukau railway station in 2012, Eastern Line trains alternated between terminating at Manukau and Papakura. This stopped in December 2014 when all Eastern Line trains began terminating at Manukau after the introduction of new timetables.[36]
Upgrades
In 2007, the island platform was extended to the north, and new shelters were installed. Sidings were commissioned at the east of the station yard for stabling trains overnight. The heritage footbridge was demolished and scrapped, despite some local opposition,[35] and replaced with a concrete bridge with two passenger lifts. The upgrade cost NZ$4,900,000 and was paid for as part of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority's (ARTA) system-wide upgrade of stations. Platforms were lengthened to enable six-car trains, because of anticipated growth in passenger numbers. 3,000 people passed through each day as of 2007, and another thousand were anticipated to use the station within five years. The new station was the seventh station to be redeveloped by ARTA in 2007.[37]
In 2012–2013, KiwiRail funded a significant upgrade as part of the Auckland railway electrification project, and to provide resiliency for suburban trains and freight trains heading south. The signalling was completely replaced; the signal panel had been commissioned over 80 years ago.[38] The heritage station building was relocated to the western suburban platform, Platform 3, on 11 August 2012. The building was refurbished and restored, and contains the preserved signal panel on display, a ticket office, public toilets and space for a coffee kiosk.[39] The North Island Main Trunk was slewed to the east, with the island Platforms 1 and 2 adjacent to the up main line to Auckland, typically serving suburban trains from Waitematā to Pukekohe. The western suburban platform, Platform 3, was lengthened, and a new bay platform, Platform 4, at its southern extremity was constructed to serve DMU shuttles to Pukekohe[40] until 2022 when construction for electrification to Pukekohe began.[41]
Bus stops are directly outside the ticket office, with the old bus stops on the station side of Railway Street West now only used for intercity services, and "rail buses" that operate when the railway network is shut down.
The station is the terminus for suburban passenger trains on the Southern Line, which was electrified in 2015. An hourly diesel train shuttle service ran between Papakura and Pukekohe on non-electrified track using DMUs until 2022, when electrification works began.[43][41]
In May 2012, Auckland Transport's board included an investigation to extend electrified services to Pukekohe in its 10-year integrated transport plan.[45] In April 2018, it was announced that electrification would be extended south to Pukekohe; see Auckland railway electrification.
Buses
Papakura is served by bus routes 33, 365, 372, 373, 376, 377 and 378.[46]
