Detailed planning is well under way on the transport and traffic operations for the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2011. Please see the bottom of this page for an up-to-date strategy for crowd management. The Auckland region will deliver efficient, effective and sustainable transport to and from matches and festival events.
The Auckland Regional Transport Authority has a dedicated team who will work with stakeholders to deliver travel plans for each venue, including major events expert, Bruce Barnard.
Bruce brings a large amount of major events experience to Auckland having successfully delivered the transport and traffic operations for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Australian F1 Grand Prix and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, as well as writing Event Management Plans for Euro 2004 (soccer), RWC 2003, Australian Rules Football Grand Final, Australian Open Tennis and the Melbourne Cup.
Rail:
ARTA proposes to enhance the rail stations that serve Eden Park (Kingsland and Morningside) in time for RWC 2011. The improvements at Kingsland Station will see 15,000 patrons moved from Eden Park to Britomart with a further 1400 being moved to the western suburbs from Morningside Station.
Further improvements are presently being undertaken with the duplication of the western line and heightening of over bridges in line for electrification in years to come.
Bus:
Special event buses will operate to North Shore and Midtown with extra services being provided for the RWC to Manukau, Botany / Pakuranga and Mt Eden / Newmarket. It is expected that approx. 9,000 patrons will use special bus services with the majority of patrons using the downtown service.
Patrons will also be moved away from Eden Park on charter coaches and taxis bringing the non private car usage to around 75% for the RWC.
Pedestrian Links:
Pedestrian links from Eden Park are also being enhanced prior to the RWC 2011 with the installation of a link lane (Cricket Avenue extension) for improved access from Eden Park to Sandringham Road, New North Road, Ponsonby and the central city.
Integrated Ticket:
It is expected that some level of Integrated Ticketing (free travel on public transport with a RWC ticket) will operate for the RWC although options are still being considered.
ARTA has a dedicated team who will work with stakeholders to deliver travel plans for each venue. Over the next two years ARTA will be using events at Eden Park as opportunities to trial traffic and transport management plans in the lead up to Rugby World Cup 2009 The crowd numbers expected for the Rugby World Cup 2011 total 16,500; with 15,000 patrons expected to go to Kingsland Station for access to Britomart, and 1,500 to go to Morningside for access to the western suburbs. The Rugby World Cup Regional Transport and Traffic Management Work-Stream are currently looking at ways of managing crowd movements on and off Kingsland station during the Rugby World Cup. It is proposed to have customers queue into corals (queues), so movements can be controlled and the station platforms do not become overcrowded (the below diagram shows the current plan for this). Pedestrians wishing to cross from Sandringham Road to the Kingsland shops will be advised to take the existing pedestrian bridge.
Training for Rugby World Cup 2011
>> Bledisloe Cup (All Blacks vs Australia) Saturday 18 July 2009. Crowd Management for Rugby World Cup 2011 - ARTA's Plans
It is proposed that corals will be developed in Sandringham Rd (towards the west) at the same width to the station entrances. Each coral (queue) will be manned by a security guard to control access onto the station. Once the station is determined to have a full train load on the platform the entrances will be closed by some discrete form of barrier. No further loading of the platform will be allowed until a train is loaded and has left the platform.
The corals will be set up in such a way as to accommodate patrons coming from Walters Rd. Should patrons go via Link Lane then they would have to walk back down Sandringham Road and join the back of the queue. Alternatively they could go up to Kingsland town centre via New North Road and enter the station from the north. Some level of queuing / corralling will also be installed at this point to control access.
It is expected that a small Police presence will be available at the station during the egress phase, as occurs at Bledisloe Cup games. Discussions still need to take place with the Police on this matter.
International experience shows that corralling / queuing of customers has been shown to be successful at international events in Australia: Sydney Olympics train station. Melbourne Grand Prix and the Spring Racing Carnival station at Flemington. With crowds in corals, they progressively move forward as room becomes available, and this prevents large groups of people gathering at an entry point making crowd movements unsafe. 
