How senior business leaders are feeling, moves to restore confidence in Auckland’s rail network and why Air New Zealand is cutting back on domestic services.
Ongoing faults and disruptions to Auckland’s rail network concern senior politicians ahead of the opening of the $5.5b City Rail Link in 2026.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Transport Minister Simeon Brown are working to improve confidence in the network.
KiwiRail has promised to cut delays by reducing speed restrictions once the CRL opens, which should lead to faster journey times for passengers.
KiwiRail has promised to cut delays on Auckland trains, amid growing concerns about the readiness of the city’s failing rail network for the opening of the $5.5 billion City Rail Link in 2026.
KiwiRail says it will cut delays from five-and-a-half minutes to a maximum 45-second delay on the western line, 30 seconds on the southern line, and 1 minute 20 seconds on the eastern line.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown, left, and Mayor of Auckland Wayne Brown are working to ensure reliable train services run once the City Rail Link opens in 2026. Photo / Alex Burton
The assurance follows correspondence between Mayor Wayne Brown and Transport Minister Simeon Brown concerned about problems with Auckland’s rail network – which has been beset by track maintenance issues, systems errors and cancelled services.
The pair are working behind the scenes to improve confidence in the rail network ahead of the CRL launch, official papers show.
“A significant concern is that the wider rail network infrastructure will not be able to support reliably and punctually the passenger train service levels upon CRL Day 1 and beyond,” the mayor said in a letter to the minister on July 5.
Letters between the pair have been released to the Herald under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
The City Rail Link is nearing completion, with passenger trains due to begin in 2026. Photo / Corey Fleming
With the 3.4km CRL project between Britomart and Mt Eden nearing completion, KiwiRail is working to complete a $550 million Auckland Rail Rebuild – replacement of railway foundations, tracks, and sleepers over the existing network – before the CRL opens.
In May’s Budget, the Government provided $159m for KiwiRail to complete the rebuild.
In two letters from Wayne Brown to the minister in July, the mayor was concerned about the deteriorating performance of the existing rail network, ongoing faults and disruption for passengers.
“This is becoming acute as we approach the opening of the CRL,” he said.
He was also “very concerned” to be told that when the CRL opens there will be more ‘temporary speed restrictions’ (TSR), a second letter said.
Since July, talks have continued between the two Browns, and KiwiRail has advised Simeon Brown that the current 5km of speed restrictions – leading to delays of five-and-a-half minutes – will reduce to about 2.9km when the CRL opens.
The City Rail Link promises 'More trains, faster times' when it opens in 2026.
“The Government’s priority is to ensure a reliable public transport network in Auckland. It is working closely with KiwiRail on the successful delivery of the rail network rebuild ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link to ensure Aucklanders have the confidence to use public transport and to ease congestion across the city,” Simeon Brown said today.
An AT spokesperson said once the CRL opens, journey times will be reduced through the new direct connection to the central city, the Auckland Rail Upgrade that will reduce speed restrictions, and other network upgrades.
Work on journey times and a Day 1 timetable will be announced in due course, the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Wayne Brown said that given ongoing service disruptions over the past year, it ought to be obvious work needs to be done on the rail network so Aucklanders can get the full benefit of the CRL.
“Since the July letters, I’ve had a productive discussion with Minister Brown.
“KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and others are working together to get the rail infrastructure up to scratch and we expect them to get it right.
“I want to get this sorted with an absolute focus on effectiveness and cost-efficiency,” the mayor said.
A huge work programme is needed to remove level crossings in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
A full-level crossing removal programme, costed at $3b, is also under way so trains don’t stop the traffic on dozens of road and pedestrian crossings across the city’s rail network post-CRL.
AT is removing seven pedestrian-only level crossings and one road level crossing to ready the rail network for CRL, and the council is contributing $190m towards removing level crossings, including four at Takanini on the Southern Line.
A CRL risk update to the council’s audit and risk committee in May said once the CRL opens, and as patronage and train frequency increase, mitigating the risk of 42 level crossings will be key to achieving the benefits of the $5.5b project.
However, the update, written by senior council staff, said the full removal programme was unlikely to be affordable under the current funding constraints.
