Auckland train services shut down after power outage

File photo / Chris Skelton

Limited Auckland train services are running after a major power outage this afternoon, but major delays are still expected for the next few hours.

Power was restored to all of the signals on the Auckland rail network after a power outage in Wellington at 4pm shut down all train services across the region.

But passengers are still being advised to take buses, as it is expected to take some time to get trains running properly again.

KiwiRail has apologised for the widespread disruption, which was caused by a power outage in its National Train Control Centre in Wellington.

The outage affected all radio and signals in Auckland, requiring all trains services to be halted.

KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn said KiwiRail was working closely with Veolia in order to get trains moving again.

Mr Quinn said an urgent investigation is underway to understand the cause of the outage. "We are taking the situation very seriously," he said.

The outage only affected the Auckland metropolitan network and train services elsewhere in the country were operating as scheduled.

Trains in between stations were forced to pull up into platforms, allowing passengers to disembark, after the outage.

Veolia Transport said it was trying to source as many rail bus services and taxis for customers on the network as it can.

The fault at KiwiRail's National Train Control in Wellington, which controls Auckland signals and radio control, occurred about 4pm.

Limited services on the Eastern line started running just after 5pm, with all signals back up and running by 5.30pm.

But Britomart was packed with frustrated commuters at about 4:30pm.

A Britomart worker said rush hour traffic meant it would take "a long time" to replace trains with rail buses.

Rail tickets are accepted on the following Buses: NZ Bus, Metro link, Waka Pacific, Howick & Eastern and Go West.

- HERALD ONLINE