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Auckland trains ‘not reliable’: Commuters ‘tired’, ‘late for work’ demand better
Auckland’s public transport network has been plagued by delays and cancellations in recent weeks.
Auckland Transport said rail commuters would have to put up with delays for the next few years as work ramped up to accommodate the City Rail Link.
Last week, just as the upgraded Southern and Eastern lines reopened, dozens of trains were cancelled when the tracks overheated.
And this week, all train services ground to a halt during the morning commuter peak because of KiwiRail infrastructure issues, and were delayed by up to 30 minutes for the rest of the day.
Between 15 January and 19 February there were 1303 train services that were cancelled. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Commuters at Britomart and Newmarket stations are at their wit’s end.
“Actually I’m quite tired of this issue because you trust the trains, you trust the service, and it’s not reliable. It’s really stressful to come to work at a certain hour, and you are ready, and you arrive to the station, and the train is not there,” one said.
“They’ve been cancelled twice this month. So I ended up late for work two days in a row because I had to take the bus instead,” said another.
Between 15 January and 19 February there were 1303 train services that were cancelled as train lines were down for planned maintenance.
That was after 78 trains were cancelled in a single working day.
Track speed restrictions, motor points issues, and crew shortages were been to blame, Auckland Transport said.
Commuters say AT should do better
“I think they should make the service more reliable. I take the Eastern line, the services have been stopped for nine months due to some maintenance. People would expect that the quality is better.
“I would like a more frequent service, at least it not being late, and prompt communication that would be good.
“Just deliver on what you say, right? You have a schedule, stick to it as best as possible. I think it’s also the communication around it, you find out five minutes before you’ve actually got to get on the train that’s been delayed or cancelled.”
Auckland Transport says rail commuters will have to put up with delays for the next few years as work ramps up to accommodate the City Rail Link. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
One train user outside Newmarket compared Auckland to cities overseas.
“I came back from Japan a couple of months ago, so their transport system is my ideal. If you miss one, it’s all good, because it comes in the next three minutes.”
Others have just accepted that delays or cancellations are the norm for Auckland’s troubled train network.
“Is there much that we can really do? Not really. As always, it can always be better, but it’s just one of those things that everyone’s got to deal with.”
One man said it was not worth making a fuss over a short wait.
“People who get in a panic are like the people who try and get one car length ahead on the motorway. What difference is it going to make?” he said.
More disruption ahead
Auckland Transport public transit director Stacey Van Der Putten said KiwiRail had resolved the issue with overheating rail lines that caused much of last week’s problems.
But, with further work being done to accommodate the City Rail Link, disruptions will be inevitable for the next few years.
“There will be disruption. It will be communicated. Every now and then there will be unplanned disruption, that’s the nature of running an operational network, and we will do our best to be able to communicate that effectively and efficiently and provide alternative services to our customers.”
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Since train services resumed on 15 January, 4370 services have been replaced by busses, because of KiwiRail and City Rail Link work.
KiwiRail explains delays and cancellations
KiwiRail chief capital planning and asset development officer David Gordon said it was “unfair” when asked why KiwiRail was seeing so many disruptions.
“We’re two-thirds of the way through an entire rebuild of the network,” he told Checkpoint.
“Heat restrictions are a fact of life in any metro network and any network around the world – those are down to a very small number now.
“And speed restrictions are associated with the rebuild. Some of the speed restrictions we’re doing is like a new road. You don’t run at full speed across it.”
He said the current situation was “not good for the passengers”.
“We’ve had a run of things and it’s not good enough. But to say ‘Oh why can’t you get [it] together’, I think is a little bit of an unfair characterisation.”
As for Thursday’s disruptions, he put it down to a miscommunication between the team that monitors the train control software and the network team.
“It is just a genuine error by a software engineer, who should have left it [the software] alone.”
The signalling system was down for 13 minutes, but there was a cascading effect, he said.
Commuters are already changing their plans to work around disruptions.
“I come in from Meadowbank, which is quite close, but it was closed for a whole year, so I had to modify my train customs.”
Some train users said they caught the train to avoid traffic or paying for parking.
“They need to do something to improve the train culture. Because the traffic is always awful. Maybe to increase the amount of trains.”
Others said they would use the train more if services were reliable.
“I try to bike where I can, because that’s more reliable. It’s such a good service when it does work, I just wish it worked more.”
rnz
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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