Commuters struggle in first day of rail action

A lack of trains left crowds of commuters at stations around Wellington Rail during the first morning of industrial action by network operator Ontrack's staff.

Commuters in the Auckland area were not affected to the same extent, but there were reports of heavy traffic on the roads this morning.

Ontrack's maintenance staff implemented a ban on overtime and callouts outside work hours from 4pm yesterday after failing to negotiate a satisfactory wage increase during final talks.

To relieve stress on the track network and reduce the risk of faults occurring early today, Toll Rail reduced the number of trains operating in the greater Wellington area.

The reduction meant large crowds of people gathered at stations north of Wellington waiting for trains to take them into the city.

Trains in areas such as the Hutt Valley were running every half hour as opposed to the usual 14-minutes and despite extra carriages being added, there were reports of severe overcrowding on platforms and in the carriages.

The problem was compounded by the temporary closure of the Melling line to Lower Hutt.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union spokesman Scott Wilson said the action would continue action until a settlement was reached.

Union members are seeking pay increases to bring them into line with other rail operators, who they say are getting up to $2 an hour more for equivalent work.

Ontrack said it had offered a 4.5 per cent increase and was financially unable to offer any more.

Ontrack chief operating officer William Peet said if the union's demands were met the company would have to ask users to pay higher costs or accept a lesser service.

- NZPA