Auckland track repairs: Talks over who gets bill for unprecedented disruption
Thursday, 17 September 2020
Talks are underway between Auckland Transport and KiwiRail over who carries the cost of months of unprecedented commuter rail disruption due to urgent track repairs and replacement.
The scale of disruption is still emerging with KiwiRail announcing the first of a series of four-week track closures, starting on part of the southern line and Onehunga line on Monday.
Rising rail patronage had been a flagship of Auckland's public transport growth, and was once expected to exceed 22 million trips this year.
That will be hit by the discovery of worn and damaged tracks in a worse state than previously thought, and Auckland Transport will lose revenue and have to pay for buses to cover the rolling stoppages.
**READ MORE:
* Auckland rail disruption: Poor state of city rail network will cost $200m to fix
* Auckland's Eastern line trains suspended for extra two weeks for track repairs
* Auckland's Southern train line to close for weeks, just as Eastern line reopens
**
The shutdowns along the southern line follow a four-week closure of the eastern line, and similar work likely later on the western line.
The closures are part of work costing $200 million, and are on top of the halving of speed limits to 40kmh, and cutting the frequency of trains to 20-minute intervals, half the current peak level of service.
'We acknowledge this will be causing disruption to rail passengers and we are grateful for the public’s patience as we carry out the urgent work,” said Todd Moyle, KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer.
KiwiRail has not yet revealed any further detail of three months of shutdowns on the southern line, beyond the initial four-week block between Newmarket and Penrose.
Testing has found nearly a quarter of the rails on Auckland's metro network need replacing or repair, due to wear and tear.
A technical report for Auckland Transport and KiwiRail obtained by Stuff outlined long-term under-maintenance and failure to cope with the impact of increased rail traffic.
Transport Minister Phil Twyford has told Stuff that the type of wheels on some trains might be contributing to wear and damage on the rails.
“We have got expert advice being brought to bear to find out exactly how the situation happened, and how we prevent it from happening again,' said Twyford.
More than 22 million trips were forecast to be taken on Auckland's rail network this year, before the impact of Covid-19, and now the ongoing closures.
A total of 560,000 trips were made in February on the southern line, now facing rolling closures, and the Onehunga line.
During the first four-week shutdown, southern line trains will be able to divert via the eastern line to the CBD, but that might not be possible during subsequent closures.
KiwiRail is responsible for maintaining and upgrading the 190km Auckland rail network, for AT's rail services.
AT said discussions were ongoing with KiwiRail about who would shoulder the costs that arose from the shutdowns, such as putting on replacement buses.
KiwiRail said it was still working with AT on the exact sequencing of temporary track closures around the network.
Chief operating officer Todd Moyle said: “At the centre of our planning is consideration for minimising overall disruption to rail passengers. We have looked closely at alternative ways to deliver the work, and have determined that the four-week blocks allow the most productive delivery of the necessary work.
“Unfortunately it is inevitable passengers will experience some disruption and those travelling the furthest on the southern line are likely to experience disrupted journeys over the next three months.
“We greatly appreciate the public’s patience as we get this work done as quickly as possible to return trains to their normal timetable.”