Auckland’s Rail Signalling System
A few months ago we learned just how fragile our train system is, even after re signalling it when the the whole system was brought to its knees due to a faulty power supply that that fed the desk from which the Auckland network is managed from.…
41 Comments Kiwirail Electrification Update
Kiwirail gave an update to the transport committee last week on progress with electrification in Auckland. Some of it was fairly detailed and it used a lot of acronyms but I will try to pull out the bits that I think are interesting or important.…
News Flash: Old Stuff Costs a Lot to Run
The owners of any heritage cars or buildings will tell you that it costs a lot to keep them operating in good condition. Well it’s not surprising that the same is true for our trains, some of which were actually museum pieces before Auckland bought them and put them back to work for another 20 years.…
Talk Trains With Veolia
Just a quick public service reminder that the last two “Talk Trains” sessions are tonight at Britomart, 5:00pm to 6:00pm and tomorrow night at Newmarket, 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Senior managers from Veolia Transport, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail, will be at the sessions to answer questions customers may have about a wide range of topics from infrastructure, to timetables, maintenance, seating and the future of rail.…
Priority of Packed Trains vs Cars at Level Crossings
This post is a little bit of a rant about something that has been annoying me. Recently a change was made to how city bound trains operate through New Lynn which has resulted in dwell times being considerably slowed down. In the past trains would turn up at the platform, train staff would go though their normal procedure and then the train would depart.…
Passenger rail in New Zealand: Blending beauty and controversy
Today I accompanied a group of Norwegians on the 830am InterIslander ferry from Wellington. After a short stop Picton for lunch we boarded the Coastal Pacific bound for Christchurch at 1pm.
Without doubt the Coastal Pacific is a superb rail journey.…
Big changes in store for KiwiRail
Some interesting announcements by KiwiRail today – confirming that their freight business will essentially be split away from the network business, which is in charge of maintaining, operating and developing the rail network (the tracks and associated infrastructure). Here’s KiwiRail’s media release:
At KiwiRail’s Annual Public Meeting in November 2011, we outlined our intention to make a change to the Balance Sheet that would reflect a standard commercial valuation approach.…
Guest Post: Save The Capital Connection
This is a guest post from reader Louis Mayo.
Although this is the Auckland Transport Blog, it is good to give some attention to transport issues in other parts of the country. You may or may not be aware that the “Capital Connection” is under threat of cancellation.…
Ploughing snow Kiwirail style
Very cool video from down by Arthurs Pass of Kiwirail clearing snow off the tracks from the recent dumping that the South island received.…
Overlander renamed Northern Explorer
As part of their efforts to supposedly make inter-city rail between Auckland and Wellington more cost-effective, KiwiRail have significantly changed the way the current Overlander service operates, and have now announced it will be renamed as the “Northern Explorer”. Here are the details:
KiwiRail’s new North Island train service, which will begin service in the middle of this year, has been given a new name – Northern Explorer.…
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