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Four trains have just been given the green light to run on Auckland’s crippled rail network.
Train services across the city were cancelled this morning after power line issues, causing major disruption to rush-hour travel.
Auckland Transport has issued an alert saying two western and southern line services were now underway.
Power has now been restored after KiwiRail chief operations officer Siva Sivapakkiam said a fault was discovered at 4am.
For safety reasons, power had to be switched off between Penrose, Swanson and Britomart, and electric trains could not operate.
“Our technicians have been on site this morning and have assessed and repaired a fault. We are aiming for the power to be switched back on shortly, so that train services can resume.
“KiwiRail has been working to fix the fault as quickly as possible, and has been keeping Auckland Transport informed.”
Auckland Transport group manager metro services Darek Koper said KiwiRail advised them the issue would be resolved in the next hour or two but “unfortunately, there will still be flow-on cancellations and delays all morning” as a result of the enormous disruption to public transport services so far.
There were no trains in or out of Britomart station on Friday morning. Photo / Michael Craig
Koper said tens of thousands of Aucklanders relied on the rail network every day to get to school, work and access essential services.
“It is hugely disappointing and frustrating that we are not able to operate our services, as usual, this morning.
“Because of the short notice of this outage, our teams have only been able to arrange for a small number of rail replacement buses, so we’re encouraging our train customers to consider using one of our scheduled bus services instead this morning.”
Koper said once power was restored and trains were back on their usual service, AT would be seeking more detailed answers from KiwiRail about the cause of this morning’s outage and what steps it would take to prevent such issues from happening again in future.
Currently, all services on the Western and Onehunga lines had been cancelled because there was no power along these lines due to an electrical issue at Grafton, Koper said.
“At this stage, we have only been able to source one rail replacement bus for each of these lines.
“Services on the Southern and Eastern lines are running as far as Ōtāhuhu, with a limited number of rail replacement buses operating between Ōtāhuhu and Britomart.
“Rail Replacement buses on the Eastern Line due to KiwiRail’s Rail Network Rebuild closure are operating as normal today.”
Early morning buses from Henderson were noticeably full this morning following the last-minute closure of Western line rail services, according to one commuter.
And Uber fares have been hiked this morning for those wanting to catch a ride from the western suburbs to central Auckland.
On some routes, fares were almost three times higher than a usual trip.
An Uber X from Mt Albert to Britomart Train Station would cost $60 and one from New Lynn to Britomart Station $75.
Auckland Transport issued a travel alert earlier warning passengers.
“All Southern and Eastern line services have been cancelled between Ōtāhuhu and Britomart,” the alert says.
All Southern & Eastern Line services have been cancelled between Otahuhu and Britomart. All Western & Onehunga Line services have also been cancelled until further notice, due to a Kiwirail track infrastructure problem. Use the AT Mobile App for more information & live updates. pic.twitter.com/tRFv1EcUNf
— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) May 4, 2023
“All Western and Onehunga line services have also been cancelled until further notice due to a KiwiRail track infrastructure problem.”
Passengers are told to use their AT app for more information and live updates.
Transport Minister Michael Wood told AM the commuter chaos was caused due to an electrical arc issue.
“This has meant the network has had to be shut down till it is resolved.
“The advice from KiwiRail is that they should have most services up and running by 7.30am. They have to work to make sure the network is safe to operate.
“Obviously, it is difficult for commuters who have turned up.”
Auckland Transport sent a notice to commuters just before 6am alerting them of the situation.
Passengers have been told that rail replacement buses are operating between Britomart and Ōtāhuhu at a 30-minute frequency.
”Additional alternative transport is being arranged.”
Just another day on #Auckland’s rail network. When are we going to be in a city where we can rely on buses, trains and ferries to get us where we need to go on time? pic.twitter.com/yCWbjLPkTo
