French rail giant signs contract to run Auckland trains

1.00pm

French-based transport operator Connex today formally signed an agreement to run Auckland's passenger trains.

The Auckland Regional Council said its deal with Connex opened a new era for passenger rail in the region.

The contract is for four years, with options to renew it to a maximum total of seven years. Connex will take over from Tranz Rail on July 1.

Slow trains and late arrivals are a common complaint among Auckland's rail users.

ARC passenger transport committee chairwoman Catherine Harland said the contract was designed to deliver more reliable and frequent services and to increase rail patronage, and Connex would help the ARC in developing the network in Auckland.

"Improving the basic rail infrastructure -- the tracks, signals, stations and trains -- is a mammoth transformation project that will happen over the life of the contract and beyond," she said in a statement today.

"These changes will inevitably impact on services. It needs an operator able to respond to and work with all parties, especially customers, to ease the impacts."

She said one reason Connex was chosen was its ability to manage this type of change.

Under the contract, Connex will provide greater levels of information about its performance, including reliability and punctuality of service, revenue growth and cost management.

- NZPA