Auckland Light Rail: Goff says it's the Government's call
Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Auckland's Mayor Phil Goff says it's the Government's role to decide which of two very different light rail schemes, is chosen for his city.
Documents obtained by Stuff show a proposal including the Government's own Super Fund involves a tunnel under the city's 'golden mile' Queen Street, and an elevated railway further away from the city centre, along which automated trains would run.
The proposal is being weighed up by the Ministry of Transport, alongside the original street-level scheme for which the groundwork was done by Auckland Transport, before the government put it in the hands of NZTA.
'When (the Government) has made that decision, I expect extensive consultation with council and Aucklanders on how the project will proceed,' said Goff in a statement to Stuff.
**READ MORE:
* Is Auckland's light rail the Government's biggest bungle?
* Auckland's light rail: Under Queen St and over Mt Eden, the Super Fund's tunnelling, or flying, tram
* Auckland light rail to Māngere delayed as talks on who will deliver it continue
* Light rail reality: The six power point slides that stopped a city**
Stuff had sought an interview with the mayor on whether Auckland should be more closely involved in choosing a scheme that met Auckland's needs, however his office supplied a statement.
'At the time we developed the Auckland 10-year transport programme, Government offered to fund light rail in Auckland. As the funder, it has primary responsibility for determining which of the two proposals, is the more affordable and feasible,' he said.
It is a view which has raised hackles of the downtown business group Heart of the City.
'You can't sit on your hands in Auckland and wait for things to happen in Wellington – that's very disturbing,' said Viv Beck the chief executive.
'We all want to see great solutions for Auckland,' she said.
Heart of the City is lobbying the council and government, the joint owners of the City Rail Link downtown rail tunnel project, to provide assistance for businesses on Albert Street, suffering from extended loss of income due to delays in construction.
Beck said one or other of the light rail schemes may turn out to be excellent, but basic information was not forthcoming on timing, routes or funding.
The Government expected to announce in February 2020 which of the two schemes, NZ Infra or NZTA's, would be pursued.
NZ Infra, which includes the Super Fund and Canada's CDPQ, proposed in material viewed by Stuff that it would co-fund the project and own and operate the light rail line in perpetuity.
The schemes have significant differences when comparing the versions seen by Stuff.
The AT/NZTA scheme was designed to largely replace congested double-decker bus services along the busy Dominion Road arterial, connecting to Mt Roskill, and then through Māngere to the large employment precinct that has the airport at its centre.
The NZ Infra scheme left open the possibility of running along Sandringham Road, and had far fewer stations which it expected would be serviced by connecting bus routes.
NZ Infra had more of a focus on a rapid connection between the city centre and the airport, whereas Auckland Transport was developing a heavy rail and busway combo connecting at Puhinui Station, as the dedicated airport connection.
A senior figure at Auckland Transport told Stuff the light rail project should never have been taken from AT and passed to NZTA.
NZTA had no previous experience in designing rapid transit schemes, whereas Auckland Transport had designed and started construction of the $4.4 billion City Rail Link, before that was passed into a council-government joint venture company.
NZTA's chair Sir Brian Roche on Tuesday admitted the agency had 'dropped the ball' on Light Rail early on, by failing to act on a Cabinet request to fully assess the NZ Infra unsolicited proposal.