KEY POINTS:
Hundreds of rush hour train commuters on Auckland's western line faced delays of up to an hour this morning after a train broke down.
The passenger train operated by Veolia broke down near Mt Albert after a power failure.
Veolia spokeswoman Silva Bassett said the 7.55am train from Swanson stopped short of the Mt Albert station just after 8.20.
She said passengers had to wait for the 8.05 train from Waitakere which shunted them to New Market where they had to get out and wait for the next service because trains cannot be pushed into Britomart station.
"We were trying to move them as quickly as we could. For us to get busses would have been slower, especially during the morning peak so it was a case of keeping things moving as best we could," Ms Bassett said.
She said the delays had a "knock-on" effect on other services throughout the morning and some services heading west had to be cancelled.
"Generally now, with the 15 minute service, people wait - a train arrives - and it might not be the one that people are expecting to get, it might actually be half-an-hour late but because it arrives and takes them to where they want to go, passengers don't mind what train it is," Ms Bassett said.
There was also a problem with signals on the Western line.
OnTrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said a central traffic control signal went down and caused delays to one service of between 10 and 20 minutes.
Mr Ramshaw said the control signal allows train operators to make sure no other trains are on the line at the time.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
