Crowds jam Kingsland station. Photo / Twitter via @doodlerambling
Crowds jam Kingsland station. Photo / Twitter via @doodlerambling
Auckland Transport has apologised for delays that left hundreds of people waiting after the Black Caps T20 game ended late last night.
And they are set to review public transport arrangements before Wednesday's final of the T20 Tri-Series at Eden Park.
Around 18,000 people used the public transport network to get to the game, with some left fuming well before Australia's stunning win after they arrived late due to overpacked transport.
And after the game a train fault meant the last two trains were delayed for 35 minutes, stranding many fans near Eden Park.
Auckland Transport had tripled capacity to six trains an hour from 4pm. Most trains had their carriages doubled to six so they could carry 900 people. Extra buses were put on the Northern Express to shuttle people to Britomart and to get them home.
But more capacity was clearly needed, an AT spokesman told the Herald.
"We apologise for the delays last night and any confusion for customers.
"The fine weather meant the crowds actually exceeded the predictions of the organisers and it appears a lot of people left it late to leave the city putting pressure on services after 6pm.
"Based on those numbers we are now talking to the organisers about the level of special event transport for future 20/20 matches," the spokesman said.
The Black Caps game wasn't bad for all. Mitch Grimstone won $50,000 with his one-handed catch. Photo / Andrew Cornaga - www.Photosport.nz
After the event AT had five six-car trains to shuttle patrons to Britomart plus 12 buses.
A signals fault at 10.45pm meant that two of the trains couldn't leave the station at Kingsland. Clearance was given at 11.20pm and those two trains cleared the rest of the crowd. The station was empty by around 11.30, an hour after the match finished, the spokesman said.
The signal fault was due to a points issue on the network at Morningside, KiwiRail spokesman Henare Clarke said.
Points are movable sections of track, allowing trains to move from one line to another.
A technician rectified the fault by re-setting a card associated with the electronic points system, Clarke said.
"It's not uncommon to experience minor faults as we did last night," Clarke told the Herald.
"The cause of an incident could be as simple as a stone getting into the points. We operate an ongoing maintenance programme to minimise impact to passengers."
Auckland Transport recommended fans leave earlier for big events to ensure they arrive on time.
"On a Friday night they can't travel at the last minute, you have to plan ahead.
