Auckland's new trains may be delayed by global Covid-19 disruption

Wednesday, 22 April 2020

Nearly half of Auckland's latest batch of new electric trains may be late arriving due to global disruption caused by Covid-19.

Seven of the 15 three-car units are still in production in northern Spain, where trainmaker CAF has only recently re-opened after a shutdown.

The first of Auckland's Latest batch of 15 Spanish-built electric trains, arrived in October 2019

'The combination of the hiatus in Chinese (component) production in January and February and the current lockdown measures in Spain mean that these will be significantly delayed,' said an Auckland Council report.

Auckland Transport is hoping the full 15-train fleet will be here before Christmas, rather than July as originally expected.

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The 15-train order supplements the fleet of 57 that entered service from April 2014, the culmination of nearly three decades re-building an almost extinct commuter rail service.

Auckland Transport said the first of the 15, should go into full service following the move to Covid-19 alert Level 3 next week.

'Two more units are in the Wiri Depot awaiting completion of testing, and two further units are likely to be shipped from Spain at the end of April for delivery mid-June' said AT in a statement.

'The factory in Spain has only recently re-opened and CAF are still developing revised work practices and shift patterns to ensure safety of staff,' it said.

AT said CAF was working with global suppliers to understand the supply chain impacts - many of the components are made in China.

The council agency said CAF was working hard to recover the production delays, and it was working on the assumption that all deliveries could be completed this year.

The original intention for the new fleet had been to buy 17 battery-powered trains that could replace the ageing diesel units shuttling between Pukekohe and the end of electrification at Papakura.

In September 2017, Auckland Transport opted to spend $207 million on the more versatile battery-powered trains.

But after negotiation with the Government, that plan was scrapped in favour of spending $133m on 15 new pure-electric trains instead.