That’s on top of up to 53 days of partial network closure during that time, when trains will run on a single line at a reduced frequency.
All up, it would mean Auckland commuters could have either a partially or completely closed rail service for up to 40% of the 369 days between Boxing Day this year and January 26, 2026.
It’ll be a major disruption for many commuters who rely on the network to travel every day and the heat will be on Auckland Transport (AT) to ensure it provides adequate alternatives (whether or not that will happen is yet to be seen).
Speaking to RNZ, Shobanna Rachodji mentioned how tough the disruption caused by the rail link project outside their florist shop, Roma Blooms, on Albert St, has been for the past eight years. The latest announcement is another blow for the business.
Work on the City Rail Link has affected some businesses for nearly a decade. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Rachodji had pinned their hopes on a busy summer season but, with the first closure falling just after Christmas this year and lasting for a whole month, that hope was all but gone.
“We make up the city, we help tourism, we help the people we were hoping for so many more people to come in during this time.”
Rachodji also said that business owners in the impacted areas had not been given adequate notice of these disruptions as they only found out, along with everyone else, during Friday’s announcement.
“We needed to have a talk with them before we bought stock for those months.
“What do we do with our stock? We’ve preordered.”
They also fear not enough financial support will be available to impacted businesses, mentioning the $12 million targeted hardship fund that was launched in 2021 to provide rent relief for businesses but which they say has only benefited landlords.
“It is looking after the landlords that’s all it is, it has got nothing to do with how our time has been wasted throughout the project, so no compensation for time wasted.”
The same concerns have been expressed by chief executive of Auckland’s city centre business association Heart of the City, Viv Beck.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck says it has been a battle to get support for businesses disrupted by the City Rail Link project.
Beck pointed out that some of these businesses have already put up with nearly a decade of hardship caused by the city rail link work.
“Watching that press conference, I really came away thinking that the Government and Auckland Council, as sponsors of this project, are doing a major disservice to the businesses affected for nearly a decade,” she said.
“It’s been a fight every step of the way to get support for them.”
The work and closures associated with it are, as Public Transport Users’ Association national co-ordinator Jon Reeves called them, a “necessary evil” but that does not mean the impact cannot be minimised. Officials must do everything in their power to lessen the impact of these lengthy cut-down services that Aucklanders are about to experience.
Auckland Council and its transport arm will need to work hard to ensure the people and small businesses that rely on those commuters do not suffer even more than they have already. Hardship funds, rent relief, discounted fares – it’s time to throw everything at it to ensure the necessary evil doesn’t force Aucklanders to suffer (more) unnecessary hardship.
