Auckland rail vision proves a slow train

By STUART DYE, transport reporter

Commuters sit on the train for 30 minutes past departure time.

Eventually it moves 100m down the track before stopping again for another 20 minutes.

Then the guards explain the service has been cancelled and it will leave as a different service in "a little while".

All in all, the 35-minute journey takes more than 2 1/2 hours.

This isn't the embarrassing shambles of a fledgling rail service. It's Auckland's commuter network - six months after the grand opening of Britomart.

The horror stories of commuting around our largest city keep filtering through.

"I'm all for using public transport and getting off the roads. But we simply don't have a reliable service in place. So back to the car ... " says Sean Bishop, who attempted to travel home to Henderson from Britomart for the first time last week.

But it's not all bad news. Patronage continues to grow, "on time" train performance has greatly improved and few who visit Britomart fail to be impressed with the building.

Inside the downtown structure, the jury is still out on the kiosks. The convenience store says trade is better than expected, Amazing Crepes says things are picking up "very slowly" but the florist admits it is doing very little business.

"No one outside knows we're here and there are just not enough people passing through to make it work."

One of the most vocal critics of the rail service, former Papakura mayor David Hawkins, concedes there have been huge improvements.

"Last year every second train was late; now there's an 80 per cent chance of getting one on time," said Mr Hawkins.

There were still improvements needed though. Trains were still unreliable and frequently broke down, and points and signals were inadequate and failed regularly.

"It's getting better and people are trying, but it is far from the standard it should be," said Mr Hawkins.

The latest figures released by Auckland's public transport governors show there has been a real improvement.

On-time services (those within five minutes) were at 83 per cent for November and an all-time high of 87 per cent for December.

The average since October is 80 per cent. Before Britomart opened it was 75 per cent, and in the two months after the transport centre opened just half of all trains were on time.

It is still some way short of the performances commuters expect. Connex, which is due to take over from Tranz Rail in July, boasts a 97.5 per cent on-time performance on its Melbourne network.

In addition, the figures are slightly skewed by fewer train users over the holiday period.

Auckland Regional Council, which is responsible for passenger transport, argues it must be doing something right.

More and more people are using rail, says the authority.

An extra 350,000 travelled by train between July and December last year compared with the same period in 2002.

Whether the new users can be persuaded to stay with rail is another matter.

The problems are based on "decades of neglect that can't be put right overnight", says Catherine Harland, chairwoman of the ARC passenger transport committee.

"And in truth things are likely to get worse before they get better."

Signals and points are more than 50 years old and need to be replaced, and the first stage of double-tracking the western line will begin within three months.

All this means good news in the long run, but in the short term it's more delays for passengers.

"The challenge is getting things done in stages while still providing a reliable service that people will use," said Ms Harland.

The rail line

IMPROVEMENTS

* 80 per cent of trains on time.

* 1,554,896 passengers July-Dec.

* Peak-time service increases.

* New operator Connex takes over in June.

* Part western line double-tracking.

* Improved customer information.

WISH LIST

* 95 per cent of trains on time.

* Complete western line double-tracking.

* Electrification of network.

* Replace points and signals.

* Suburban station upgrades