New Trains – What do we want changed?
Last year Auckland Council agreed to fund the procurement of more electric trains in order to meet the massive growth of patronage on the rail network since Project DART and Electrification of the network.
Whilst the trains should look the same as the ones we have now, as I understand it, AT will be going though a process to review the design.…
121 Comments Improving EMU Travel Times – LGOIMA
Back in January I made a request to Auckland Transport asking what had been done/planned to improve travel times on the rail network, the response I received was very positive and if able to be implemented fantastic for rail users. You can view the entire response here.…
How fast should our trains be
In just under a month’s time, on 12 March, Auckland Transport will introduce a new rail timetable. There are a couple of significant changes that we know will come with this timetable: Westfield Station will close
Parnell Station will open, served initially by Southern Line trains with Western Line trains only stopping in evenings and weekends.…
ATAP ASAP’s – Extra Trains
In Part 1 of my series I wrote about the Third Main between Westfield & Wiri as being an ATAP (Auckland Transport Alignment Project) ASAP, a first decade project that in my opinion needed funding straight away, my second post of this series is about the need for extra trains pre-CRL (City Rail Link).…
Behind the scenes on the electric trains
Looking at the AT website the other day I noticed that some previously confidential board papers had now been published. One of those was an update on our new trains, diving in to some of the technical issues they’ve faced. They say there’s been a lot of positives from the project including that deliverables were met within the original time, cost plans and budget. …
Battery powered trains for Pukekohe
Since the majority of the Auckland network went electric last year, people travelling to and from Pukekohe have had to catch one of the old diesel trains as a shuttle from the end of the wires at Papakura. As I understand it the main reason the wires weren’t extended further than Papakura was the cost.…
ATs solution, hope growth slows
We’ve questioned before whether Auckland Transport have bought enough electric trains. This has been prompted by repeated experiences of myself and others of packed trains at some times of the day. At the peak of the peak this is not unexpected but at that time services are also normally run by 6-car trains.…
Celebrating the 57th electric train
Today Auckland Transport celebrated the arrival of the last electric train – of this first batch. The celebration also included a visit by Prime Minister John Key Auckland Transport has officially marked the arrival of the last of the city’s 57 electric trains with a function at the Wiri Train Depot attended by the Prime Minister.…
Do we have enough trains – part 2
Late last week I asked the question of whether we have enough trains. The post has resulted in a lot of discussion however some of the answers I received from Auckland Transport left me asking more questions. In particular
CAF has committed to supplying 46 EMUs for weekday operations.…
Getting to an all electric network
Today marks the first time in Auckland that all train services on a normal weekday will be run by electric trains. While I’m sure there are bound to be more teething issues as a result, it represents a significant milestone in the progress towards a better and more balanced transport system for Auckland.…
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