Long-forgotten Hamilton underground railway sparks redevelopment debate

There are fresh calls for Hamilton's underground railway station to be re-opened in what's been called an opportunity to enliven the central city.

Few Hamiltonians are even aware that inside the 344-metre tunnel beneath their feet is New Zealand's first underground passenger train station.

The rumbling freight trains can still be heard from inside the movie theatre of the Centre Place Shopping Centre, but the station's blocked off and passenger trains haven't passed through for decades.

The rail-line originally travelled over land from the Frankton Station through central Hamilton, before crossing the Waikato River on the 142-year-old Claudelands rail bridge. A tunnel was later burrowed beneath Victoria St and the line moved underground, with the new platform opening in 1964.

A bus station sat above and commuters could take a ramp below ground to catch the Rotorua Express.

In 1991, passengers could jump on the Kaimai Express to Tauranga and the Geyserland Express to Rotorua, but the station closed three years later, gaining a cult-like status as a haunted, abandoned relic of Hamilton's past.

A video posted online by someone who's broken into the station showed the original Hamilton Central sign intact. You could see the concrete platform and tiled walls plastered with graffiti.

What was once a wooden bench was smashed to pieces. Rubbish was also scattered around the dark corridor next to the tracks.

Former Hamilton city councillor and rail advocate Dave Macpherson said, if it re-opened, it would do wonders for the city. It's near the bus transport centre and right in the heart of the city, near lots of cafes and shops.

"It would enliven the city. People would have a reason to live there, if they had work that took them to the Bay of Plenty or up to Auckland."

Macpherson had been down there twice in his capacity as councillor and said, while it was dark and the walls were scrawled with graffiti, he didn't think it would take a lot of money to get it up to scratch.

"You've already got the platform, the walls, the steps, the tunnel, got all that stuff there already. You need some lighting, you probably need to put new electric and a new signage, and clean it up.

"It would put us a bit on a par with Auckland. They've got the underground set-up and they're about to get going in September. Well, what's the next thing you should do.

"Don't wait to get congested like Auckland. Let's start planning for that now and let's get it started."

Deputy mayor Geoff Taylor said there were no plans to revitalise the station, which he said was in disrepair.

"From my perspective, it's just unrealistic and it wouldn't be financially responsible at all."

He said the council had other priorities, including significant infastructure costs and debts it was trying to get on top of.

"The money that would need to be spent would just be eyewatering."

Waikato Regional Council said the role of a railway station in central Hamilton was being considered as part of the future of Te Huia, a passenger service between Hamilton and Auckland.

It said, if this was recommended, an investigation would be led by KiwiRail and Tainui Group Holdings, which owned the mall above the station.

A KiwiRail spokesperson said it only owned the tracks, so any development of the station wasn't for the agency to decide.