Where’s the vision?

Here’s a snippet from the draft Regional Land Transport Strategy that the Regional Transport Committee sent back to officials to work on for another month because it was ‘not visionary enough‘.

Rail electrification with 10minute services and connection of the rail system to Manukau City Centre and Onehunga are projects which have been agreed for some time and are in the process of being delivered. The Onehunga Line and Manukau Link are expected to open in mid 2010, and the first electric trains are targeted to commence service in 2013. These improvements are critical to continuing the growth of rail patronage in Auckland and allowing passenger rail to fill its role (along with the Northern Busway) as the Rapid Transit Network which forms the backbone of the public transport system. These activities need to be implemented as soon as possible.

Integrated ticketing and fares are critical in making public transport easier to use and more convenient for users. As the Rapid Transit Network develops, integrated ticketing and fares will become increasing important to enable passengers to transfer with minimal inconvenience between feeder services and the RTN. It is expected that integrated ticketing and fares will be implemented as soon as possible, certainly within the first 10 years of this strategy.

The CBD rail link will play a critical role in providing capacity for the rail system to continue to grow beyond the 10 minute services currently planned, will produce faster journeys from the west of Auckland to the CBD, and will provide greater coverage of the CBD. The capacity of the rail system is currently limited by the constraints on the tunnel leading to the Britomart terminal. Construction of the CBD rail tunnel will allow Britomart to operate as a through station rather than as a terminal. The consequent increase in system capacity will enable trains to be operated at higher frequencies and will provide the ability to operate new services to the CBD, including rail services connecting with the airport and using the Avondale-Southdown Line. The CBD rail tunnel will also provide improved rail coverage to the CBD. Without the accessibility provided by the CBD rail tunnel the growth of the CBD will be constrained as roads become increasingly congested and the number of buses in the CBD becomes harder to manage. It is expected that the CBD rail tunnel will be constructed within the period 2021 – 2031.

The Northern Busway currently operates as a full RTN on its own right of way only as far as the Constellation Drive Station, although it operates with shoulder bus lanes to Albany Station. Extension of the Northern Busway in its own right of way to Albany Station, and continuing from there north to the Hibiscus Coast, will reduce bus travel times and increase reliability from locations north of Constellation Drive by providing more direct routing and by removing the bus operation from congestion on the Motorway. This will enable the full benefits of the Busway to be realized and make bus travel more attractive to people from Browns bay, Albany, Orewa, Silverdale and the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. Further investigations are required to confirm the nature and alignment of the northern extension of the Busway, its northern termination point and the nature of Park and Ride facilities required. Extension of the Busway is planned in two phases – the first phase connects the existing Busway at Constellation Station with Albany Station and continues to the Northern Motorway at Redvale, and is expected to be constructed in the period 2021 – 2031. The second phase extends the Busway from Redvale to the Hibiscus Coast and is expected to be constructed in the period 2031 -2041.

The Airport rail loop consists of connections to the Airport from the north via Onehunga and from the east via Puhinui Station. As well as serving air passengers, the line will provide accessibility to the fast growing employment area around the Airport and will increase services to the growing centre of Onehunga. Only limited investigations have been carried out to date on the detailed route of the rail connections, how the introduction of rail would be staged, and what bus services should be established in the interim. It is expected that the Airport rail loop will be constructed in the period 2031 – 2041.

The Avondale – Southdown rail connection enables the introduction of passenger rail services connecting West Auckland with South Auckland, including provision of services to the Airport. It would provide a more direct route for rail freight from West Auckland and from north of Auckland to the North Island Main Trunk and therefore to both the Port of Auckland and locations to the south. It is expected that the Avondale – Southdown rail connection will be constructed in the period 2031 – 2041.

It is expected that the Northern Busway will operate effectively during the period of this strategy. It will provide an attractive public transport connection between the North Shore, the CBD and the rest of the RTN and QTN system, and will provide a strong public transport core for movement around the North Shore. Towards the end of the period of this strategy however the Busway is likely to approach its operational capacity and this may constrain further growth of public transport patronage. It is therefore necessary to continue investigation of rail and to protect the ability for the future introduction of passenger rail to the North Shore. The route to be protected across the Harbour is the route identified in study undertaken in 2008, which involved tunneling from the CBD to a station under Gaunt Street in the Wynyard Quarter, then continuing in tunnel under the Harbour to emerge in the vicinity of the Esmonde Road interchange. This particular option is known as Option 2C (which also includes the road component described in Policy .6.2.2 below). On the North Shore there may be advantages in following a different route from the Northern Busway, in order to access centres not on the Busway and to maximize the benefits of rail in supporting the development of more concentrated mixed use centres in accordance with the Regional Growth Strategy.

Investigations into public transport connections between Panmure, Botany and Manukau City Centre show that bus operations in the corridor should be upgraded to operate as a QTN as soon as possible, and that planning should proceed to enable upgrading to an RTN, probably during the period 2021 – 2031. The route should be future proofed for conversion to light rail at a later date.

Investigations into the Henderson – Westgate – Albany public transport connections indicate these connections would operate as bus QTN over the period of this strategy. It would be wise however to future proof the route for conversion to bus RTN at a future time.

I can see where the RTC is coming from. If it takes until 2031 for the CBD Rail Tunnel to be constructed then we really do have no hope for our city. I thought this document was meant to promote public transport – not provide excuses for those more keen to spend zillions on motorways. Let’s hope all those timeframes are brought forwards by 10 years.

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