A rather odd article in yesterday’s NZ Herald caught my attention when reading through the Herald website. It would seem as though the “shortlist” for the suppliers of Auckland’s electric trains has been lengthened quite significantly, with a number of new companies vying for the $500 million contract.
Here’s parts of the article:
The Government-owned rail operator is calling for bids from no fewer than 10 parties for 38 three-car trains within a budget of $500 million, compared with a short-list of four announced in July, saying it wants to ensure a superior “whole of life” supply and maintenance deal.
Three Chinese contenders have been added to the list, as well as a Japanese consortium and two Australian firms.
One industry source described the expansion of the list as a “mind-boggling” development at this stage of the contracting process, which is aimed at having the trains delivered between mid-2013 and the following year.
The source feared it could undermine the credibility of the process among those who thought they had the inside running, possibly to the point of driving them away from New Zealand.
I guess on the one hand getting as many bids as possible for the contract is a good thing, as it increases the likelihood we’ll get the best possible trains for the lowest price. However, on the other hand it could lead to delays and just seems, well – odd.
The critical issue is picked up by ARC Chairman Mike Lee:
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee said the move was a surprise to him, and he hoped it would not lead to any more “slippage” in the project timetable, which was delayed by almost a year after the Government decided to buy the trains rather than expect Aucklander motorists to pay for them through a regional fuel tax.
Another paragraph suggest some slippage in the project’s timeline is inevitable:
KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn acknowledged that widening the pool would increase the tender evaluation task, although he still expected the first electric multiple unit trains to arrive in Auckland in June 2013. But asked whether they would all be in service by the target of 2014 on an electrified track network costing the Government a further $500 million, he said that would depend on final negotiations with the successful bidder.
There’s quite a long delay between the first delivery of trains and when they’re up and running. Initially we were promised full completion of electrification by 2013. If we’re still waiting in 2015 to get the last of the units into action it will be very disappointing.
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If these new companies can meet the EOI requirements then why were they initially excluded? Despite the government claiming they have nothing to do with it and that it’s Kiwirails decision, I do think they have influenced Kiwirail to extend the shortlist, in particular to include some Chinese companies. I strongly suspect that the govenrment has promised the Chinese the contract behind closed doors and were probably a little red faced when Kiwirail didn’t include them.
As you say the biggest concern is that the timeline will slip and we will be waiting even longer for the new trains which is unacceptable.
What possible reason would the government have to promise this contract to a Chinese company? And if they had, why not arrange a more efficient way of awarding it to them than holding a competitive tender where the jack up is so inept they couldn’t even arrange for the favoured vendor to make the original short list?
Governments get involved in these kinds of things all the time, the main reason is to build diplomatic ties for things, i.e. I have heard that Ganz-Mavag won the Wellington contract 20 years ago only because the government of the time wanted to try and increase trade ties with Hungry. With the Chinese the current and former governments seem to be going to great lengths to keep friendly with them which isn’t surprising considering how big their economy is getting and how much room for growth there is.
That was a long time ago Matt. Muldoon was PM (the order was actually made in 1979) and meddled in all sorts of things. I recall that he personally decided which competing manufacturer’s engines would be used on Air NZ jets. That is pretty much a thing of the past and I still can’t see why the government would want to increase imports from China as opposed to, say, Korea. We already do an enormous amount of trade with each of them and enjoy generally favourable trading relations with both countries.
But assuming we had done a back room deal with China, why not just write something in to the tender requirements that only a Chinese manufacturer could meet? Instead you’re saying that the government left the whole thing to chance, hoping that a committee of public servants would just happen to select a Chinese manufacturer. That sounds random and hopeless.
The full list of tenders is here http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2010/09/03/auck-electric-train-bids-widened/
and Joyce’s comments http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2010/09/06/joyce-says-ak-electric-trains-on-schedule/
The only thing to change is to accommodate 2 Chinese companies after Key and Joyce visited China and the ETA commitment remains trains from 2013 like Wellington’s Matangi which are also arriving over time not in one shipment!
bit off topic but does anyone know when and how we will hear about the interim findings of the CBD rail loop BCR analysis?
Followed that link of Jon C’s above and found this surprise:
Mr Joyce took the opportunity to talk up Auckland’s rail.
He said commuter rail is an increasingly important way for Aucklanders to get to work each day. “The upgrade and electrification of the Auckland rail network will provide for more frequent trains at peak times and help to meet future passenger demand.
“New Zealand’s future success is tied to that of Auckland as our largest city and largest local economy. Getting Auckland transport working well is crucial to getting Auckland growing faster and providing more jobs. The government’s comprehensive rail and roading plan for Auckland is gaining momentum towards improving transport across the city. Increased productivity and growth in Auckland delivers flow-on effects for the rest of the country.”
golly… someone’s getting through…. or is it PT wash?, as of course with all the upgrades he’s opened and electrification they are the previous government work and not part of any of his ‘government’s comprehensive plan’. Show us your plan Steve, and how comprehensive it is…. the bits that aren’t roads that is.
Exactly until he writes a cheque for the CBD tunnel minimum he is just a cheerleader.
Of course Joyce’s vaguely pro-PT comments have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that a former National party minister is standing for mayor of Auckland. Don’t worry, even if Banks is elected, I rather suspect that in a couple of months the Hon Steven Joyce MP (list) will be reiterating his deeply held belief that since 85% of commuters travel by private car then 85% of NZTA funding has to be dedicated to the construction and development of motorways.
I still don’t get you Kiwis
Why the Auckland trains aren’t the same as the Matangis, by the same builder, and only modified to the extent that is required eg high voltage AC feed.
Not just for cost reasons, but simply for standardisation. So a Wellington driver can drive in Auckland with only route knowledge to be trained in. And Christchurch, Dunedin too, if it should come to that.
4 million people is too small to be differentiating – you don’t have the Australian excuse of the second tier of government having the legal right to be difficult, contrarian and parochial.
Ideally you’d have bought the Maryborough stock, modified for 1.5kvdc and low platforms for Wellington, and then a less adapted model for Auckland. But given you’ve gone with the Koreans, you should stick with them to come up with a generic package you can roll out whereever.
And that includes Hamilton – QR and to some extent WA have had some success using a suburban car body for interurban use.
There are really different requirements between Auckland and Wellington. The loading gauge for the Matangis is smaller than what we have available in Auckland. This means we can use longer carriages.
Voltage is different as you said, maximum grade is different, desired size of each unit is different. This should make an Auckland solution a much better choice than adopting wellingtons solution.
I believe that upgrading our platforms to be 1000mm or 1100mm high would be the best choice. Then not only would our platforms fit our current trains but we could purchase standard trains, not custom low floor ones. This would also allow level boarding at every door. Perhaps admin could do a post on platform height in Auckland.