Rail ridership stats ahead of the CRL opening
The City Rail Link is being officially opened today – as in, a ribbon-cutting, with trains commencing from Sunday. So with passenger services just two days away, what better time to take a look at look at how the rail network has been performing, to help provide a bit of a benchmark for the transformation the CRL delivers.…
41 Comments Westgate Te Waiarohia Station Opens
The Northwest Busway reached a major milestone yesterday with the official opening of the first permanent piece of busway infrastructure – the Westgate Te Waiarohia Station. (See details here about services, and ministerial media release here.)
The rapid transit service that will run on the future Northwest Busway – the WX1 – was launched in late 2023 with interim stations on the Te Atatū and Lincoln Rd motorway interchanges and just some basic bus-stops at Westgate.…
CRL Visits and Timetables
While we still wait to find out the date the City Rail Link will finally open, Auckland Transport yesterday released the timetables that will be used, and announced public ‘First Look’ events at the stations. First Look Events
AT will be opening up the stations, one weekend at a time, for people to look through.…
Western Line Level Crossing Early Challenges and Feedback
A few months ago Auckland Transport finally started talking about the need to replace level crossings on the Western Line – something I think will become glaringly obvious in a few months once the City Rail Link opens, especially when frequencies increase, likely early next year.…
RoNS Reality Finally Hits Home
In something of a Matariki miracle, the government has finally acknowledged that their mega-road programme isn’t feasible (as we’ve been pointing out for quite some time), and have scaled it back accordingly.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop has been hinting for some months that this was probably going to happen, with the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme alone expected to cost over $50 billion, but it’s good to finally have it confirmed as of last Thursday:
Transport Minister Chris Bishop is welcoming the publication of NZTA’s Major Transport Projects Pipeline, setting out the phasing for projects including the Roads of National Significance and major public transport projects.…
A special preview of the CRL Stations
With construction wrapping up and testing well advanced, we’re now likely only a couple of months away from the City Rail Link opening. As such, Auckland Transport is starting to get excited to show off the city’s new treasures, and last Friday invited us along to tour the new stations.…
A ‘Trump Bump’ on Public Transport and Cycleways?
It is now over three months since the fuel crisis started as a result of the Straight of Hormuz being closed. And, while petrol prices have largely disappeared from the headlines, the data shows we’re definitely seeing what you might call a “Trump Bump” in public transport and cycling numbers.…
Budget Day 2026
It’s budget day and while we wait to find out what the government may or may not fund, we were asked by The Post for some policy ideas we’d like to see or not see in the budget in less than 200 words.…
Tweaks to Takaanini level crossings
Auckland Transport are tweaking their proposals for removing level crossings in Takaanini.
Updated plans for four new bridges to replace level crossings in Takaanini aim to save money and minimise construction disruption.
The Takaanini bridges are the next phase of the Auckland Rail Level Crossing Programme, which helps unlock the full potential of City Rail Link by allowing more frequent trains while keeping traffic moving and improving safety.…
The higher cost of a “cheaper” CRL
Almost two years after leaving as chief executive of City Rail Link Ltd to deliver Dublin’s MetroLink, Dr Sean Sweeny is back. And back in the news, critiquing the cost of the project he once headed.
While I get the points he’s making, and agree with some of them, his comments suggest he’s perhaps too focused on the individual project, at the expense of the massive benefits it delivers to the wider network.…
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