Transport hassles — Auckland vs Wellington vs Christchurch

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

I love living in Wairarapa where there isn't so much as a single set of traffic lights....ANYWHERE....PERIOD.

And I love living where “town” is just down the end of my one-block street.

It isn't the traffic lights that are the problem. It is the lack of a viable alternative route and the fact that if you get beyond the Nelson St off ramp the only way to get off the motorway is to drive over the bridge.

According to today's herald John Key thinks this was a freak event.

He doesn't live on the North Shore. I do.

There is nothing freak about it. The Harbour bridge has be blocked more often than the ferries have been cancelled due to weather.

I am very glad that I work not far from home (I could walk the 4km distance) and on this side of the harbour.

I understand part of the problem was rubbernecking motorists travelling in the opposite direction slowing to be nosey.

I have seen the same thing on SH2 approaching Wellington many times.

A classic example was about three months ago....I was driving a train into Wellington, due in there at midday, and as I passed through Petone I noticed bumper-to-bumper traffic inching along the southbound lanes of SH2. The road on the other side of the railway lines as well as the Petone Esplanade were also both jam-packed with cars as they crawled towards the point where they merged with SH2. The thought entered my head that there must be a crash on the southbound lanes somewhere between there and Wellington. Sure enough, as I rounded the curve by the Wellington Waterski Club and the Petone Rowing Club, I could see lots of flashing emergency vehicle lights way in the distance in the vicinity of Ngauranga a few kilometres further along the western side of Wellington Harbour. However, as I got closer (passing the huge traffic-jam along the way), I discovered that the crash was actually in the northbound lanes of SH2 (there is a concrete median barrier between the southbound and northbound lanes) and that the huge traffic jam was being caused by southbound motorists slowing right down to a crawl to rubberneck at the crash scene on the other side of the median barrier. You've really got to wonder about the sort of dickheads who cause huge traffic jams like that by rubbernecking.

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[ssweetpea]

We had the train equalvent of the harbour bridge blockage the other day.

The emergancy stop was activated on a train entering the tunnel into Britomart. It took 45 mins to get it towed out. Of course this happened in the morning rush so roll on chaos at Newmarket.

The mayor is using the incident as ammo for building the city rail link and making Britomart a through station rather than a terminal.

The need for a backup to the harbour bridge also got a mention.

Of course this isn't the only infrastructure woe that is building up for Auckland. Spark may yet deliver a rerun of the Post Office telephone exchange overload that happened in the 80s. All those new exchanges they put in then.....they are still using them and if you think a 10 year old computer is bad...what do you think a 30 year old computer is like?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Making Britomart a through-station is a no-brainer.

Compare Wellington Railway Station (and its approach tracks, rolling stock storage yards, and junctions) with Britomart and you can immediately see what a huge bottleneck Britomart is. There is absolutely no capacity to deal with stuff-ups and not enough capacity to get trains back out again amongst trains coming in.

Wellington, by comparison, with nine active platforms to Britomart's five platforms has considerably more capacity for trains actually being berthed at the station for a start, then it has the room for a much more complex track junction connecting the incoming/outgoing main lines to those platforms, with multiple movements in both directions through those junctions at the same time. It also has large train storage capacity in its West and North storage yards (for electric-multiple-unit trains), as well as its East storage yard (for carriage trains), along with plenty of capacity to route trains between platforms and those storage yards through the main station junction amongst incoming and outgoing trains. Then there is the fact that there are four main lines coming into the main track junction; one bi-directional J'ville main; and an Up main, bi-directional Middle main and a Down main running out to North Junction where those three tracks split into four — Up and Down mains for the NIMT, and Up and Down mains for the Wairarapa line (Hutt Valley). The result is that in Wellington, trains can keep moving into and out of the station even when there is a log-jam.

At Britomart, when a train stops because a dumb passenger hits the emergency stop button, everything grinds to a halt in a huge log-jam. The Auckland rail system is now virtually at capacity (as far as the number of trains which can run) with the most recent timetable additions (as of last Monday, I believe), so they cannot run any more trains on the system until the city rail link tunnel (and associated stations) are built, and that is being held up by the anti-public-transport Nats.

If you look at each plan to free up the Auckland rail system by putting in an underground loop, the first plan was killed off by the 1st Nats government; the second plan was killed off by the 2nd Nats government, the third plan was killed off by the 3rd Nats government, the fourth plan was killed off by the 4th Nats government; and now the fifth plan is being stymied by the 6th Nats government. No wonder Auckland transport is in such a mess when NZ has had so many anti-progress Nats governments since the 1940s.

Unfortunately, NZ has too many idiots & dumbfucks. If you wish to know how many idiots & dumbfucks there are, go to the Electoral Commission website and look at the number of votes in favour of the Nats during the recent general election, and you will have that total of idiots & dumbfucks of voting age.

[reality]

Brucie...."Unfortunately, NZ has too many idiots & dumbfucks. If you wish to know how many idiots & dumbfucks there are, go to the Electoral Commission website and look at the number of votes in favour of the Nats during the recent general election, and you will have that total of idiots & dumbfucks of voting age."


...yup..over 50%...which puts you in a minority....hang tough for 3 years...at which time you will get another chance to join the majority
..but...hey...there are those who actually enjoy being part of a minority...they enjoy the excuse to be perpetual whingers...they remind me of aussie battlers

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

...yup..over 50%...which puts you in a minority....hang tough for 3 years...at which time you will get another chance to join the majority

And as usual, you are full-of-shit.

Take NZ's total population and divide it by the number of idiots & dumbfucks (those who voted for the Nats) and you end up calculating that two out of every nine NZers actually voted for the Nats. Which means that seven out of every nine NZers didn't vote for the Nats.

But lets take it even further and eliminate all those who aren't eligible to vote, and you still end up (when you do the calculations) discovering that only two-and-a-half out of every nine NZers actually eligible to vote, voted for the Nats. In other words, five-and-a-half out of every nine eligible NZers didn't vote for the Nats.

Did you fail mathematics at school? Are you a dunce as well as being an idiot & dumbfuck (and a torture-loving psychopath who needs to be kept away from kids)?

[reality]

Brucie..."seven out of every nine NZers didn't vote for the Nats"

..ok..now read my lips..I know its hard for you to get your noggin around this, but lets give it a go

When you talk about people who "didn't vote for the Nats"

.....You cant count people who are to young to vote...because you dont know who they support

.....You cant count people who didn't vote.................because you dont know who they support

out of the people who are left...over 50% voted in a way that if the member/party they voted for were successful..chances would be that............... John Key would be the leader of the elected National govt..with or without the support of minor partners

and just to spell it out for in simple terms for you even further...people who voted Act, United and Maori party..would have had to assume (based on the experience of the previous govt structure) that John Key would be leading another National Govt

..now if you count all those votes..I think tou will find that it is over 50% of the total votes

..if people did not want John Key and National...they would have voted for the socialist left Greens/Labour/Peters/Mana/Dotcom/Internet coalition (did I miss any ...they didn't..

..any ideas why

[ssweetpea]

 A few little facts:

The number of train journeys in Auckland this year has just hit a new high of 75 million. Have a look at the graphs here http://transportblog.co.nz/tag/patronage/ Ironically the number of vehicles crossing the harbour bridge has dropped by 2%. Does that mean fewer people crossing the harbour or does that mean there are more bods on buses?

Britomart has only 2 tracks accessing 5 platforms. That is 2 platforms smaller than was orignally planned.

Currently the western line aka the main trunk north joins the southern line aka the main trunk at Newmarket so all bar the eastern trains go through Newmarket where they are switched either south or west. The proposed rail link will run from Britomart to Mt Eden creating a loop that would make it possible for Newmarket to be bypassed by some trains.

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

The underground rail link will also eventually provide the means for an underground junction with a North Shore line tunnelling beneath the harbour. However, it needs to be designed, and waterproof contracts signed BETWEEN Nats governments, so the next incoming Nats government cannot do their usual anti-Auckland trick and cancel it.

Ditto for lines to the airport. If the Nats are given an inch, they will take a mile and continue to consign Auckland to transport chaos.

[reality]

Brucie...."so the next incoming Nats government "

..well..I must say I am a little surprised that you are now resigned to thinking that the Nats will win again next time..welcome to the team...I'll send John K a text to let him know we have you on board...he's going to be over the moon

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

A little message for the “truly stupid”....

The swinging electoral pendulum means that governments in NZ alternate between the left and the right of the political spectrum.

So it stands to reason that after the next left-leaning government, the pendulum will eventually swing back the other way, resulting in an “incoming Nats government”.

I think somebody is too busy trying to work out ways to try out his pro-torture ideas on his kids and his grandkids to be capable of understanding simple stuff.

[reality]

I know what you mean...again..welcome to the team

And...for future reference..I think the correct term you may be looking for (regarding contracts) is watertight...not waterproof...just saying

[ssweetpea]

The underground rail link will also eventually provide the means for an underground junction with a North Shore line tunnelling beneath the harbour. However, it needs to be designed, and waterproof contracts signed BETWEEN Nats governments, so the next incoming Nats government cannot do their usual anti-Auckland trick and cancel it.

Ditto for lines to the airport. If the Nats are given an inch, they will take a mile and continue to consign Auckland to transport chaos.

LOL. Waterproof in more than one repect. Britomart is already below sealevel.

To give an example of how chaotic Auckland traffic is .....I had to drive from Highbury to Howick and back on Friday. I made the mistake of leaving Highbury at 3pm, I thought this would be ok as all the high schools had finished for the year, Onewa Rd was busy but not as bad as usual. I got to Howick at 4pm, spent 5 minutes picking up what I went for. At 4.30pm I was in the queue to get on the motorway from the Southeastern Highway (Sylvia Park).I was driving into the tunnel before I got over 40km/h, it was stop/start around Green Lane inspite of the onramp signals supposed to limit the number of cars entering the system. At 5.10pm I exited the motorway at Tristrim Ave (Wairau Park). Spent 10 minutes picking up what I needed before battling my way across the Shore to home. I got home at 5.55pm.

That round trip of about 63km should have taken 65 minutes + 15mins I spent out of the vehicle. Instead it took 160 minutes + 15mins.

[reality]

Wow...will it get to the stage that people start moving further out of Auckland to avoid all that wasted time...or do the high paying jobs make it all worthwhile..I am assuming that if there is not a high paying job...why would you bother?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Meanwhile....Saturday night at Britomart Railway Station....

• Auckland Yoofs

....they're probably future Nats-supporting voters (if they aren't already voting for the retard Nats....).

[reality]

Ahh..wrong again..they would definately be be from the extreme left of the species(Labour/Greens)

..I just cant understand why tear gas and rubber bullets were not implemented..

Think we need some American Police to give us some lessons on how to handle civil disobedience  

[ssweetpea]

Nah.
Just more proof that idiots are everywhere...including Auckland.

[reality]

....These scum have cost the Auckland ratepayers 20K..now they should be given a fair trial and locked up, and of cousre fines to pay for the damage   ...


Brawl at Auckland's Britomart station causes $20k damage 
IAN STEWARD AND JOSH FAGAN
Last updated 15:36, December 15 2014

Security footage of a mass brawl on Auckland trains is being reviewed by police who are promising to make arrests if any criminal activity was captured.

Auckland police have slammed the behaviour of two groups of teenagers involved in a brawl at the Britomart train station, calling their actions "irresponsible, unacceptable and potentially dangerous".

The brawl started at the central city station at 11pm and spilled over onto rowdy trains where vandals smashed in windows and caused $20,000 worth of damage.

SMASHED: Train windows were damaged after teens brawled at Britomart Station.


The same crowd then hopped on the Southern Line train and caused a bigger ruckus, throwing bricks through windows when the train stopped at Glen Innes station.

The station was closed for 20 minutes as police and 15 security guards worked to break up the on-platform altercation.

The Rail and Transport Union (RTU) said this afternoon that a train manager on the Western line had also been assaulted during the melee.
RTU's general secretary Wayne Butson demanded accountability for the offenders and said union members were concerned that alleged offenders were put on moving trains.

"Putting potentially violent individuals and groups onto the trains puts both staff and passengers at risk and is an extremely inappropriate course of action," he said.

"This is not the first time we have brought up the issue of safety on the rail network, but this is the worst incident yet."

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said police weren't present when the violence erupted but had been patrolling the station regularly along with Maori wardens and Auckland Transport security staff.

Ad Feedback

Inspector Peter Gibson said when police were alerted, 25 officers arrived "within five minutes of being dispatched" but that most of the disorder was over by then.

"Although no arrests were made at the time in deference to public and safety concerns, we have access to CCTV security footage and are looking closely at it to identify anyone who was committing crimes," he said.

Video footage posted online showed two groups of teenagers clashing and shouting at each other.

Councillor George Wood said the city's train network needed more police officers on the ground, or a dedicated force of transit police.

The mayhem coincided with the end of the Christmas in the Park and also the Ragamuffin music festival in Henderson, west Auckland.



 - © Fairfax NZ News
 

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from The Dominion Post....

Better rail service impresses Wellington customers

By MICHAEL FORBES | 5:00AM - Thursday, 08 January 2015


The first of a new batch of Matangi trains rolls off the assembly line in at Hyundai-Rotem's factory
in Changwon, South Korea ready to be put through its paces before being shipped to Wellington.

IT took a while, but Wellingtonians have finally fallen in love with their trains.

Overall customer satisfaction with the Tranz Metro network hit an impressive 92 percent for the year to June 2014 in Greater Wellington Regional Council's annual survey.

It is an impressive turnaround for the region's metropolitan rail service. Customer satisfaction levels dipped as low as 48 percent between 2010 and 2012, before improving to 59 percent last year.

Greater Wellington's rail operations manager, Angus Gabara, said he suspected the lift in public perception was down to the council's new way of surveying.

A random phone and internet poll used to be the method of choice, but this year the council handed out questionnaires on randomly selected train services instead.

“Under the old system we ended up asking a lot of people who only use the train once or twice a year ... and they weren't always aware that things have improved,” he said.

“By surveying passengers directly, we found we got a lot more regular train users, who were better placed to tell us how the service was going.”

Between 2010 and 2012, years of unreliable trains were also still fresh in the public mind, even though the hundreds of millions of dollars invested by central and local government in track upgrades and new Matangi trains was improving punctuality and reliability, Gabara said.

It appears all is forgotten now, though. Greater Wellington surveyed 4298 train passengers during April and May and found 81 percent were happy with the frequency of their trains, while 77 percent were satisfied their trains were on time.

About 96 percent of passengers felt safe on the region's trains and 90 percent were pleased with the helpfulness of Tranz Metro staff.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the smiles on those people's faces corresponded with the trains largely running on time.

Punctuality — which is measured by the number of trains arriving at Wellington Railway Station within five minutes of their scheduled time — was a tick over 95 percent on the Hutt Valley and Kapiti lines.

The Johnsonville line was not far behind on 93 percent, while just under 75 percent of Wairarapa trains arrived when they were supposed to.

The council's report pointed out those numbers might have been even better had it not been for the storm last June that tore chunks out of the sea wall near the rail line between Ngauranga and Petone.

Patronage also improved during the year to June 2014. About 11.6 million passenger trips were taken on Wellington's trains, up from 11.4 million the previous year.

Paul Swain, the council's public transport portfolio leader, said that worked out to be roughly 23 train trips for every person in the region.

“Services are reliable and punctual and as a result more and more people are choosing to take the train,” he said. “We are fast approaching historic all-time highs in annual patronage.”

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/64746847/Better-rail-service-impresses-Wellington-customers


from The Dominion Post....

Fresh batch of trains hopefully squeal-free

By MICHAEL FORBES | 5:00AM - Thursday, 08 January 2015

WELLINGTON's new trains have begun to roll off the assembly line, complete with a new piece of kit designed to eliminate the dreaded "wheel squeal" plaguing the Johnsonville line.

The first of 35 Matangi trains being built at Hyundai Rotem's factory in Changwon, South Korea, moved from the workshop to the rail track last month to begin dynamic testing.

The new two-car units will begin arriving in the capital from May.

They will be drip-fed to Wellington from Korea in shipments of between two and four units at a time, as they become ready. All going to plan, the entire fleet will be shuttling passengers throughout the region by the middle of next year.

But while they will look and feel exactly like the 48 Matangi units already in use, the second wave of trains will have an important new design feature.

Greater Wellington rail operations manager Angus Gabara said the train wheels would have in-built sound dampeners — a rubber ring strategically placed inside the wheel to reduce resonance.

The council has its fingers crossed the devices will alleviate, if not eliminate, the high-pitched screeching that Matangi trains emit on the Johnsonville line.

The noise, which the suburb's frustrated residents have come to call wheel squeal, is caused by the wheels skidding on the top of the track as the train corners.

It has been a problem since March 2012, when the first Matangi began running on the line through Wellington's northern suburbs, which is unique because of its steep gradient and many tight corners. At the very least, it was hoped the sound dampeners would reduce the need to cover the line in friction modifier solution, which softens the screeching but makes the line more susceptible to delays and cancellations because of the greasiness, Gabara said.

“I'm pretty confident the wheel dampeners will help reduce the decibel level,” he said. “The friction modifier is pretty good in summer, but in winter it can wash away if there's enough rain.”

The council had looked at retro-fitting sound dampeners to the Matangis already in Wellington, but found they did not work effectively unless they were built into the wheels. If they proved to be the answer, the council would discuss options for replacing the wheels on existing trains.

The council is splitting the total project cost of $170 million with the New Zealand Transport Agency. The deal with Hyundai-Rotem also includes $10m worth of upgrades for the existing Matangi trains to fit them with auto-couplers and new lights.

Gabara said he could not wait to see the first Matangi arrive. “We're all ready reaping the benefits from the first Matangi in terms of punctuality and patronage growth, and these new trains will keep that going.”

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/64746935/Fresh-batch-of-trains-hopefully-squeal-free

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from The New Zealand Herald....

Light rail returns to the spotlight

Auckland Transport is investigating replacing
some bus routes with electric tram service.

By MATHEW DEARNALEY | 5:00AM - Friday, January 23, 2015


Auckland may yet see modern trams like Milan in its streetscape on certain busy roads in and out of the city.

AUCKLAND could become a city of trams again, with light rail back on the drawing board to complement trains and buses.

The city's transport authority has revealed it is investigating replacing buses with electric light rail on a handful of busy isthmus routes such as Symonds Street, Mount Eden Road, Dominion Road and Sandringham Road — all part of a 72km tram network before their tracks were ripped up in 1956.

Queen Street and Manukau Road in Epsom could also be starters, according to a draft regional land transport plan which Auckland Transport will release today.

That follows concern among planners that a large triangle of the Auckland isthmus — which will not be served directly by the proposed $2.5 billion underground City Rail Link and is referred to as a “void” — will become clogged by buses from the early 2020s.

Auckland Transport's strategy and planning general manager Pete Clark suggested yesterday that light rail could be extended in the longer term to Botany, North Shore and alongside the Northwestern Motorway.

The organisation's chairman, Lester Levy, emphasised last night that the city rail project remained top priority, and trams would not be in competition with trains, which would remain the fastest way of moving the greatest number of people.

“But if all we have on certain routes is just a row of buses going nowhere, that's no solution,” he said, noting that trams could carry three times as many people an hour.

Even double-decker buses, which Auckland Transport is also looking at, would only “buy a little bit of time”.



Auckland Mayor Len Brown, who is today unveiling a 10-year budget with deep cuts to transport spending unless he can convince the public to accept motorway tolls or higher rates, said trams were not a priority for him although he would be interested in the outcome of the investigation by Auckland Transport.

“There's no funding, nothing in the timetable, no decisions made — just an interesting opportunity for an investigation so I will be measuring this work beside all the other work that is presently unfunded in the budget.”

But Dr Levy disclosed Auckland Transport was considering “a novel form of financing” involving private investment to shield the council from any extra burden for at least the first five years of light rail.

He hoped for “a complete case” to be ready for his board to approve in March, before referring it to the council and the Government in time for inclusion in the city's long-term plan.

He said many overseas cities were turning to light rail as technological improvements brought costs down and removed the need for overhead wires.

Former Auckland City Mayor Christine Fletcher, who championed light rail up Queen Street, was “elated” council policy staff were recognising trams as “a critical solution”.

• Investigating alternative transport solutions

• Draft Regional Land Transport Plan released

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11390472


from The New Zealand Herald....

Tram option deserves a serious look

If study finds figures stack up, light rail could be a
welcome addition to Auckland’s transport armoury.

EDITORIAL | 5:00AM - Saturday, January 24, 2015


If the study finds trams are compatible with cars on these big city roads, then the Auckland Council,
Government and ratepayers must seriously consider them.

AUCKLAND's traffic congestion problem, unlike the traffic, doesn't stand still. When one congestion problem is addressed, another emerges. When one solution is found, usually at considerable public investment, another costly improvement is necessary soon after.

A growing population, more cars on the road and tight public finances mean it never seems possible to catch up with the peak morning, afternoon and weekend crushes.

Auckland Transport, the body charged with moving Aucklanders, cannot simply give up in the face of the slow commute. It has increased bus lanes and multi-person car lanes, upgraded cycle lanes, improved the bus network and services and is betting big on the City Rail Link (CRL) underground train route to transform public transport into and around the central city.

Now it has resurrected the possibility of light rail or high-speed trams on several big routes across the isthmus.

Complete with pictures of smart-looking, modern Italian trams, the agency has begun investigating replacing buses on roads such as Queen Street, Symonds Street and Dominion Road. It believes its previous solutions, in bus lanes and infrastructure improvements such as the Connector, which was designed to whisk bus passengers out of the city and across Grafton Gully to the south and east, need more help.

If Aucklanders look at the new study with scepticism, it would be understandable. Any system of tram lines along city roads would be a substantial investment and a major public works project. Innovations of this scale have been discussed, shelved or discarded over generations. The electrification of Auckland's rail lines and introduction of a new train fleet seems to have been creeping into action for longer than the Super City has been discussed. Even now, some old diesel trains are chugging away while Auckland waits.

The CRL, from Britomart up to Mount Eden, is still in doubt. If financing is eventually agreed, the tunnels will not be completed for an age.

Overlaying existing plans with another project, with not only extra cost but disruption to traffic and communities during construction, might seem all too much to contemplate for a city grinding into a new year.

Yet transport officials need to keep looking for answers. Overseas cities are lining up to improve their public transport with new light rail or trams which function without overhead lines or high voltage ground rails. As the technology improves it would be remiss of Auckland planners not to challenge their own past thinking on buses. Figures supplied by AT show designated tram lanes could carry 18,000 people an hour on the six main roads identified, compared with 6,000 on buses; if the tram lanes are on shared road space the total passenger number reduces but it is still far higher than buses on comparable lanes.

The agency has anticipated pushback on funding for tram rails and carriages with so much already on Auckland's infrastructure agenda. Its chairman, Dr Lester Levy, talks of a “novel form of financing” involving private investment.

If the study finds trams are compatible with cars on these big city roads, and will carry more people more quickly in a zone which will be untouched by the CRL's benefits, then the Auckland Council, Government and ratepayers must seriously consider them.

They are not the only solution to city congestion but they could well be one of the many Auckland needs to keep things moving.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/transport/news/article.cfm?c_id=97&objectid=11391055


from The New Zealand Herald....

Tram plan: From isthmus to waterfront

Auckland Transport’s new $1 billion scheme wins
support but clashes with mayor’s vision for city.

By MATHEW DEARNALEY | 5:00AM - Saturday, January 24, 2015


Auckland Transport hopes to attract private investors for the tram plan.

ANY new generation of Auckland trams would likely start from the waterfront and head up the Dominion Road commuter spine via Queen Street, says the city's transport head.

Auckland Transport chairman Lester Levy told the Weekend Herald that link — stretching about 10km from an existing waterfront tram circuit in Wynyard Quarter — would be “the most likely candidate” for stage one of a network capable of extension as other isthmus routes become more congested.

Although costings had yet to be made in an investigation due to be reported back to his board in March, Dr Levy said: “We are talking about something we would expect not to exceed $1 billion.”

The investigation has come as a surprise to Auckland Council members and appears to have irked mayor Len Brown, being announced the same day as he put a 10-year budget flagging deep transport spending cuts to public consultation.

But Dr Levy has indicated hope of attracting private investment to shield ratepayers from any extra financial burden for at least the first five years of a new era of electric trams, as successors to what were taken off 72km of city streets in 1956.

Council infrastructure chairman Mike Lee is delighted Auckland Transport is considering the Wynyard Quarter as its starting point.

“The best way I think to demonstrate the effectiveness of light rail is to get the Wynyard tramway connected to Britomart and run some very modern trams on it, to show Aucklanders what modern trams can do,” he said.

Labour and the Greens have indicated support for the light rail investigation, as has the youth group Generation Zero and most Herald readers with views on the subject.

“Light rail can carry two or three times more people per hour than buses and at faster speeds,” said Labour's Auckland issues spokesman Phil Goff.

Green Party transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter said operating costs would be lower than buses, and trams would provide “huge benefits for neighbourhoods in terms of noise and congestion reduction and property values”.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges said decisions about replacing buses with light rail were for Auckland Transport rather than the Government, but a business case stacking it up against other public transport projects was essential.

Former Labour Party president Mike Williams, an Auckland Transport member until October, said efforts to attract private investment for transport projects in his time went nowhere and talk of funding up to $1 billion for trams from that quarter was “utterly pie in the sky”.

He had been unaware of concern about isthmus roads becoming so congested that buses could no longer handle passenger loads, and believed double-deckers would provide enough extra capacity.

North Shore councillor George Wood liked the idea of light rail but believed Auckland had become “locked into” heavy rail.

“I think we've made our bed — we've got to sleep in it.”

But Mr Lee said 87 percent of Aucklanders who made submissions on a waterfront plan in 2011 favoured extending the Wynyard tramway to Britomart, and it was time to turn it into “a genuine light rail service rather than just a novelty”.

“I think Aucklanders want to see a practical demonstration of a modern tram in operation.”

NZ Herald readers say…

John Rudd: “Great idea — Istanbul, $2 a ride regardless of distance.”

Ian Werder: “The sooner the better. I live in Sandringham Road and it gets clogged in the morning and evenings because of the single lane and the number of buses. Dominion Road is even worse.”

Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay: “These are a super-efficient, quiet and cost-effective way of moving people in any big city. The countries in Europe are light years ahead of New Zealand when it comes to transport.”

T. Marinovic, Parnell: “It's time transport planners took the bull by the horns before Auckland grinds to a halt by 2020.”

Fiona M: “No thanks to the train set. I live on the Shore so it's no good to me. Our rates are already going up higher than other parts of Auckland.”

Brian, Howick: “Can't believe it has taken the planners so long to get around to considering this most efficient system of transport.”

Mark Levene: “Has a cost/benefit comparison been done on using light rail instead of spending $2.5 billion on the City Rail Link?”

Allan: “I suggest they look at the light rail system in Adelaide — wonderful service.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11391133

[reality]

Great idea..it will help the depressed Auckland property market

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from The New Zealand Herald....

Little room for cars in Auckland tram plan

Much of Queen Street would be closed off to motor
vehicles under latest scheme by transport planners.

By MATHEW DEARNALEY | 5:00AM - Thursday, April 02, 2015


An artist's impression of Queen Street as a pedestrian and light rail-only space.

CARS may be squeezed out of Auckland's main street as the city's transport authority looks to modern trams to move growing throngs of commuters.

Auckland Transport chief engineer Steve Hawkins warns there will be insufficient space in much of Queen Street for general traffic to co-exist with trams running in each direction every few minutes between the waterfront and Dominion Road.

“For the section between Wellesley Street and Customs Street, we would essentially have just light-rail vehicles and pedestrians,” he told Auckland Council's infrastructure committee.

But he said allowing cars to keep using Queen Street south of Wellesley Street “would be possible” and there would be enough room for a traffic lane each side of tram tracks along routes such as Dominion Road and Fanshawe Street.

Mr Hawkins was updating the committee on an investigation, due for consideration by Auckland Transport's board at the end of this month, into using trams for the first time since 1956 as a mass transit alternative to buses threatening to clog constrained downtown routes.

Heart of the City business association central manager Tania Loveridge said the organisation was “compelled by the idea of a transport network that significantly reduces the environmental impact on the city”.

A study last year found high pollution readings — notably from diesel bus emissions — which indicated air in Customs Street at the bottom of the Queen Street valley risked failing World Health Organisation standards.

Auckland Transport chair Lester Levy said in disclosing the light rail investigation in January that he wanted to attract private investment to kick off a staged development, starting with a link between Wynyard Quarter and Mount Roskill via Queen Street and Dominion Road which he hoped could be built for less than $1 billion.

Transport planners envisage four isthmus tram routes, three converging on Queen Street and the other from Onehunga feeding into Symonds Street.

A Y-shaped route from Wynyard Quarter to Queen Street via Fanshawe Street would be a prerequisite to trams running in 2019 up Dominion Road and then west along Stoddard Road to a depot near Richardson Road in Owairaka.

That would be followed by trams along Sandringham Road in 2021, then from Onehunga via Manukau Road in 2030 and on Mount Eden Road in 2035.

Mr Hawkins said that although Symonds Street was envisaged as a second CBD route, it was already carrying about 150 buses an hour at peak times — almost twice the optimal number for efficient operations — and the number needed to be eased before digging it up to lay tram tracks along a 7.5m-wide concrete slab across two lanes.

That meant funnelling up to 18,000 tram passengers an hour into Queen Street from Dominion Road and Sandringham Road to reduce the number of buses using Symonds Street.

Without introducing trams to complement the proposed $2.5 billion city rail link, buses arriving in downtown Auckland were forecast to reach their capacity of 420 an hour by 2023.

His team was looking at light rail systems not requiring overhead lines, along which trams could be re-charged from surface induction plates or by super-capacitors providing 20-second bursts at each station.

Auckland Transport strategy and planning chief Pete Clark said the council body had also started re-looking at the capacity of the Northern Busway to assess whether and when light or heavy rail should be added to another Waitemata Harbour road crossing.



http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11426637

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from the Manawatu Standard....

Capital Connection saved for three years

By JANINE RANKIN | 7:25AM - Wednesday, 01 July 2015


The Capital Connection remains on track for three years. — Photo: Warwick Smith/Fairfax NZ.

THE Capital Connection commuter train service between Palmerston North and Wellington has been saved.

KiwiRail on Tuesday confirmed the service, which had been under threat of closure any time from the end of June, would remain on track for another three years.

Former Palmerston North mayor and National list MP Jono Naylor, and Otaki MP Nathan Guy, shared the news with commuters at Wellington Railway Station on Tuesday evening.

Naylor said the mood was positive and upbeat, with hugs all around, including for MPs.

Paraparaumu commuter Philip Bryant said the announcement was “absolutely fantastic news”.

He said being able to take the train cut 15 minutes off his travel time each trip, and he was able to do work while he was on board.

Otaki commuter Lyall Payne said it was wonderful that the service would be retained.

“A lot of people are very dependent on the train.”

“Many people from various towns in between Wellington and Palmerston North just would not get to work, and would be very seriously compromised if the train did not continue.”

Key to the decision to retain the Capital Connection was Horizons Regional Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council signing off their Long Term Plans on Tuesday, including a subsidy for the service.

Their joint support recognised the importance of public transport that crossed regional boundaries, a feature that had disqualified the Capital Connection from attracting a New Zealand Transport Agency commuter service subsidy.

Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway said there was no doubt the regional councils' support had clearly got the case for saving the train “over the line”.

“It sent a very clear signal to the Government that it provided a service that was a priority for the region.”

Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon said the rail service was essential and it was a relief that passengers had certainty about its future.

The council had voted to provide $150,000 in the coming year, and another $175,000 in the next two years, to be matched by Greater Wellington.

“The Capital Connection is an asset to the economic and social fabric of the Horizons Region and will be important in the longer term for connecting our region with the Wellington metropolitan area,” said Gordon.

Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Chris Laidlaw also welcomed the news.

“Our modest contribution recognises the benefits for our ratepayers living north of Waikanae who otherwise don't have direct access to a train service connecting to Wellington.”

KiwiRail scenic journeys manager Gavin Rutherford said there would be maintenance and repairs for each of the carriages at staggered intervals over the next 12 months.

Lees-Galloway has worked closely with Save the Capital Connection spokeswoman Marilyn Stephens to convince KiwiRail the service was necessary and affordable.

He said the threat to the service had been around for five years, and he was in awe of the group of active, dedicated, and passionate campaigners who had worked extremely hard in the last six months to secure its future.

Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith said he was delighted the money had been pulled together to keep the train on track, and the fact it had been saved was more important than who paid.

Related previous stories:

 • Capital Connection to get $550k, five-year lifeline from GWRC ratepayers

 • Capital Connection will continue for at least a few months

 • Campaign to save Capital Connection train service

 • Fears Capital Connection train may be axed

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/69849570/capital-connection-saved-for-three-years


from The Dominion Post....

Passengers save own rail service as Capital Connection runs for three more years

By JOEL MAXWELL | 12:49PM - Wednesday, 01 July 2015


Passengers board the Capital Connection in Otaki. — Photo: Kelvin Teixeira.

AN ARMY of rail passengers have saved their own service — planning their strategy while they rode the train.

The battle to save the Capital Connection took another twist on Tuesday with Kiwi Rail's announcement it had gained a three-year reprieve.

It followed three years of intense resistance by passengers against losing the daily round trip between Palmerston North and Wellington.

On Wednesday, spokeswoman for Save the Capital Connection Marilyn Stephens said passengers planned their action while they rode the train.

They did “three key things” on the train — created a detailed week-long survey with 707 respondents; helped pump more than 500 submissions to Greater Wellington Regional Council, and had experts working on a business case.

“We had the designer for our logo and our work, we had the printers... who travel on the train and they did the printing for our flyers and communications. We had proof-readers who did proofing and editing documents… and all the analysis and stuff was… done on the train. It was a stunning team that included the whole train.”


Capital Connection supporters protesting the potential loss of the service in 2012, at the Levin station.
 — Photo: Warwick Smith.

Deborah Burns, a commuter from Levin, said it was not surprising the passengers had been so well organised.

“There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on that train so it should not have been underestimated the ability of those people to put forward cogent, intelligent arguments.”

Burns said she had been a research consultant in transport for 40 years.

“I think that during this three-year period, Kiwi Rail should take the time to meet local people, and local experts who have very good suggestions on how to get more use out of the train.”

This could include taking the Connection to and from Paraparaumu, connecting to the Tranz Metro, and introducing a second return run during the day between Kapiti and Palmerston North.

News of the reprieve was welcomed by Gillian Johnson who, till her retirement, was commuting from Ohau, south of Levin, to Wellington as an administrator for the NZ Defence Force.

“It was my only way, I don't drive, so I had to rely on public transport for everything… my husband works up this way so there was no way he could take me down. So I relied on the train, big-time.”

She said there were plenty of non-drivers around who needed the service, and the train was the only option to get into Wellington to start work at 8am.

When she was still using the Connection it was “really good” to be part of the collective fight to save the service, Johnson said.

“The little surveys they'd have on the train between the passengers, the banter and everything. It was good to see everybody was behind it. They wanted to keep it.”

Passengers won support from local politicians and MPs as they fought the closure of the service — the only commuter rail service between Palmerston North and Wellington.


The Capital Connection train at Otaki's
railway station. — Photo: Kelvin Teixeira.

An announcement by Kiwi Rail on the Connection's future expected in mid-year was complicated when it was revealed by Fairfax that Greater Wellington Regional Council had not budgeted to save the service.

Former Greater Wellington chair Fran Wilde said the cost would be too high — despite the original 2012 business case to save it coming from the council itself.

Greater Wellington back-pedalled in June and included about $550,000 in its 10-year budget, matching a similar pledge by Horizons regional council to the north.

On Tuesday, new Greater Wellington chair Chris Laidlaw said the decision was “very good news” for the Wellington and Manawatu regions.

“Our modest contribution recognises the benefits for our ratepayers living north of Waikanae who otherwise don't have direct access to a train service connecting to Wellington.”

Kiwi Rail scenic journeys manager, Gavin Rutherford said Kiwi Rail would be undertaking maintenance and repairs for each of the carriages.

“These will be withdrawn at staggered intervals over the next 12 months before returning to service.”

Meanwhile Stephens said the Connection travellers would likely hold a party on the train, with balloons and refreshments, in about a week's time.

• Related previous stories:

 • Capital Connection may have reprieve

 • Horizons Regional Council fights for Capital Connection

 • Regional council considers subsidy for Capital Connection

 • Capital connection plan collapses

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/kapiti/69855068/passengers-save-own-rail-service-as-capital-connection-runs-for-three-more-years

[ssweetpea]

Auckland needs a Hamilton Connection.

It would help solve the housing shortage if people could buy in small town north Waikato and catch a train to work in Auckland. There are only two sections of track that couldn't be high speed.

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Good luck trying to get a Hamilton Connection train while the Nats are holding the reins of power in government.

I cannot believe the bloody cheek of National list MP Jono Naylor and Otaki MP Nathan Guy trying to make themselves out to be the heros at Wellington Railway Station yesterday. Those Nats wankers haven't lifted a finger to help during the time the Capital Connection train has been under threat, and have dutifully followed the Nats line that the train wasn't necessary and there was no way the government was going to support retaining it. The real HERO amongst MPs has been the MP for Palmerston North, Iain Lees-Galloway, who is most definitely NOT a Nat, and who has been relentless in fighting to retain the train. Unlike those two Nats pieces of filth who have shown they were prepared to throw the Capital Connection commuters to the dogs while toadying up to the Nats ideology of refusing to support retention of the train. Those two Nats MPs are HYPOCRITES.