February-22 AT Board Meeting
Tomorrow the Auckland Transport board have their first public board meeting for the year and here are the highlights from their board reports. You can also watch the open session of the meeting live between 9am to 10:15am via this Microsoft Teams link.…
66 Comments Next steps for light rail
It’s taken a while to fully digest the light rail announcement from a couple of weeks ago. As I said at the time, and in quite a few interviews since, I have mixed emotions about it all. On the one hand it’s amazing to see the government willing to invest so much in Auckland’s rapid transit network – but on the other hand I worry the ‘tunnelled light-rail’ option has taken the worst parts of the two modes they looked at: the high cost of metro and the lower capacity of light-rail.…
The Light Rail Indicative Business Case
Following the release of the government’s decision on Light Rail two weeks ago, the Auckland Light Rail team (ALR) released the Indicative Business Case (IBC) used to make the decision and although some of what are probably the most interesting parts of it are redacted, and they still haven’t published the appendices, there is some useful information in it.…
A case of creeping scope creep…
By popular request, here’s our recent Twitter thread in blog form. Not our usual style, but something that will remain topical as long as agencies and ministries leap to large-scale conclusions instead of starting at the beginning with quick, smart solutions… Citizen: I need a 3-bedroom home, as we’re about to have a second child, and the current 2-room flat is too small.…
The East Tamaki Industrial Area
People who work in and visit the East Tamaki Commercial and Industrial Area will soon be able to choose from a vastly better offering of travel options. The first project on the books – all the way to Botany – is the Eastern Busway.…
Sooo… Tunnelled Light Rail
On Friday the government announced their decision on Light Rail.
I should start by pointing out that it’s fantastic the government have agreed to invest so much in public transport in Auckland. At $10.3 billion in today’s value, or $14.6 billion with inflation by the time it is finished, this will easily be the largest single transport project ever attempted in New Zealand.…
What I’m looking out for in the government’s light-rail announcement
An article yesterday by Simon Wilson in the NZ herald (paywalled) seems to suggest that the government will select the “tunnelled light rail” option for the City Centre to Māngere project.
In October last year, Transport Minister Michael Wood said he was taking a recommendation to Cabinet for a line to run from Wynyard Quarter to the airport.…
2022 Rail Shutdown Nearly Over
We’re now in the final week of Kiwirail’s massive summer rail shutdown and from today some trains are back on the tracks. Kiwirail’s Acting Chief Executive David Gordon says this Christmas closure has been the most ambitious they’ve ever undertaken and:
“It is the single biggest mobilisation of resources for a temporary closure with 1100 people working day and night on the network to make it more resilient and reliable, and to advance some major infrastructure projects which are proceeding thanks to Government investment through the NZ Upgrade Programme.…
2022 – The Year Ahead
Welcome to 2022. After wrapping up 2021 before Christmas, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see in 2022.
Overall it appears that COVID will continue to loom large over the year and will be a major factor, potentially directly but certainly on things such as travel patterns.…
2021 – A Year in Review
With the year quickly drawing to a close it’s time for a quick wrap up the most important things that happened and WOW, what a year it’s been.
Thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in making Auckland greater.…
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