Fuel Tax Fight and Rail Fail update
The two stories we covered at the start of the week continue to be in the headlines so it’s worth looking at the latest for each of them. Regional Fuel Tax
Mayor Wayne Brown promised some ‘argy-bargy’ over the government’s decision to cancel the Regional Fuel Tax and he’s followed that up by requesting that AT stop work on all projects funded in part by the RFT, including those Minister Simeon Brown has listed as his priorities – though it also includes some good projects like Gt North Rd and his comments around cycleways and safety programmes leave a lot to be desired.…
43 Comments Auckland’s Persistent Rail Issues
Over the last few weeks in our weekly roundup we’ve commented on the frequent delays and cancellations that have occurred on the rail network this year since the rail network went back into full operation on the 22-Jan – with Kiwirail proclaiming they had ‘successfully delivered summer holiday infrastructure upgrades across NZ‘
Things have been so bad that of the 14 weekdays (not including public holidays) we’ve had since the rail network has been back in full operation, there have been delays and cancellations caused by track faults, crew shortages or other issues on 12 of those days.…
What should be next for public transport in Auckland
With the demise of light rail, the question arises of what next for public transport in Auckland. That was the topic of an interview I had on Radio NZ yesterday, but I thought it was worth expanding on that some more with what I think should and shouldn’t be the focus.…
2023/24 Summer Rail Works Complete
Kiwirail are celebrating the completion of their near four-week long Christmas/New Year network shutdown works. KiwiRail successfully delivers summer holiday infrastructure upgrades across NZ
KiwiRail teams delivered significant upgrade initiatives across the country’s major commuter rail networks on time and on target over the summer holiday period.…
New Maps, Old Issues
Back in 2021, Auckland Transport introduced a new Rapid Transit map, one which actually called it the Rapid Transit Network rather than a rail map which had the busway tacked on. While the map was an improvement on what had come before, there was still plenty of room for improvement, not to mention a few errors.…
Light Rail officially dies
Yesterday the government made an announcement that should surprise almost no-one, finally making it official that light rail is dead.
The coalition Government continues to deliver on its 100-day plan with the decision to cancel the Auckland Light Rail project.
“Auckland Light Rail would have cost taxpayers $15 billion, with advice showing the cost could increase to $29.2 billion,” Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.…
Guest Post: Huge Existential Threat For New Zealand’s Rail Network – Yet Again
This is a Guest Post by Michael van Drogenbroek. He is a Rail, Freight and Public Transport Consultant/Advisor at Heriot-Edievale Ltd with 30 years plus experience in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia and New Zealand. This post was first published here and has been edited for length.…
Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans.
In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel extending from Wynyard Quarter all the way to Albany.…
CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them.
First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL.
Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each year to run and maintain the $5.5 billion City Rail Link once it opens in 2026.…
Dangling Transport Solutions
Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports:
Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New Zealand’s urban transport mix at an event hosted by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.…
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