South Auckland train line to close on weekends until March for repair work

Thursday, 11 February 2021

KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer Todd Moyle On the big track replacement programme (video from June 2020)

Parts of Auckland’s Southern train line will soon be closed on weekends until late March, so worn lines can be repaired and replaced.

Trains will not run between Papakura and Pukekohe on weekends from February 13 to March 28.

Auckland Transport will instead run rail replacement buses on the weekends and from 9pm on weeknights.

The Pukekohe repairs mark the final stage of Kiwirail’s Auckland rail network overhaul, which began in August.

Workers clip up newly laid tracks to the sleepers on the line. (File photo)

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KiwiRail’s chief operating officer Todd Moyle said the schedule has been put in place so commuters are less likely to be disturbed.

“We know train users on this line typically travel longer distances, so we have planned our work for weekends and evenings to avoid interrupting their weekday travel plans,” he said.

KiwiRail’s Todd Moyle at the Penrose Train Station.

“We appreciate any disruption to travel plans is frustrating and want to assure the public that hundreds of KiwiRail staff have carried out an immense amount of work, carrying out repairs around the clock in order to get the job done as quickly as possible.”

Freight trains will also not run on weekends during the day.

Trains returned to the Eastern line this week after a two-week hiatus for repair work on the track and sleepers.

Current rail replacement work between Swanson and Papakura has also finished, Moyle said, with trains now able to return to their 10-minute frequencies during the peak across the entire Auckland network.

“KiwiRail teams are working at night to destress the new rail and to carry out other finishing work to avoid impacting daytime services,” he said.

In late 2020, it was found Auckland’s rail network needed $200 million worth of work due to inadequate maintenance, increasing failures and a long list of repairs.

To fix the issues Kiwirail have replaced more than 112km of damaged rail, “which is 84 per cent of the required re-railing work overall”, Moyle said.

“At the same time, we’ve replaced close to 20,500 sleepers and destressed 95km of rail track.”

He said that a number of improvements to rail in south Auckland are in the pipeline, and that work is already underway to “prepare for the extension of electrification from Papakura to Pukehoke.”

“New overhead masts will be built along 19km of track between Papakura and Pukekohe to power electric trains for passengers, and Pukekohe station will be redeveloped to allow for more services and longer trains.”