$1bn cure for Auckland's traffic woes almost ready to roll

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Auckland leaders have unveiled a $1.08 billion vision for public transport in the city.

Thrashed out by councillors after seven months looking at six options, it has a mix of light rail similar to trams in the downtown city and in the west, heavy trains in the south, and the busway on the North Shore.

The plan hinges on whether the Government will gain control of city rail routes from Tranz Rail and pass them over to Auckland councils to develop a modern network of rail and bus services converging in the city at the new Britomart transport centre.

If accepted, the blueprint will profoundly change the way public transport operates in Auckland.

It would involve rail corridors stretching from Papakura in the south and Glen Innes in the east to Swanson in West Auckland. The other parts of the jigsaw are the North Shore busway straddling the motorway to Albany in the north, and a light rail going up Queen St to the university, the hospital and on to Newmarket.

Money will be crucial.

Local funding agency Infrastructure Auckland has set a limit of $410 million on passenger transport over the next 10 years.

The Auckland City Council is stretched paying for Britomart and an indoor arena. Other councils have been reluctant to put a lot of money into developing public transport.

The region is looking to central Government and the road funding body, Transfund, for a generous dollop of cash.

The preferred option emerged at a five-hour workshop of councillors on Friday. Auckland local bodies will be asked to ratify the plan in the next six weeks.

The workshop focused on two options, heavy trains on the entire rail network, or light rail in the west and heavy trains to the south. Both options included the busway.

The project has been "roughly" costed at $1.08 billion, including $680 million for capital items like Britomart, the busway and new tracks and $400 million for new trains.

The preferred option also includes $185 million to electrify the western line for light rail and $52 million for more appealing light rail trains.

Auckland Regional Council transport committee chairman Les Paterson said the workshop believed the added cost of light rail would be outweighed by more people using it and better opportunities for surrounding land use.

The regional growth strategy envisages intensive housing developments around the rail corridors.

The high volume of heavy freight traffic on the main trunk route south and associated safety problems made it unsuitable for light rail, he said.

Mr Paterson said the region was a step closer to an integrated transport system, but the tracks could not be touched until the Government gained control of the rail corridors from Tranz Rail.

After taking over the Tranz Rail negotiations from the Auckland councils in April, the Government has reported good progress. Both parties expect to sign a deal next month.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the Government would negotiate a price "substantially less" than the $112 million the councils agreed to pay Tranz Rail.

Mr Paterson said it was crucial for a deal to be reached next month because the region had to order new or refurbished trains for when Tranz Rail's contract expired in June 2003. That would take two years.

Tranz Rail has warned Auckland councils that only half of its 39 passenger trains would be fit for use in June 2003. It has offered to run the trains until a new system and operator are in place after 2005 but it will not pay to upgrade its train fleet.

National Party transport spokeswoman Belinda Vernon said the Auckland councils were doing their bit to improve public transport and now it was the Government's turn.

"Until there is certainty about the rail corridor access," she said, "it's impossible for financial commitments to be made by interested parties on equipment and additional infrastructure."

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