Rudman's city: Access deal stays on track but much work lies ahead

By BRIAN RUDMAN

Barring any last-minute hitches, the Government will sign an agreement with Tranz Rail this week buying back the lease on the Auckland rail corridors.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen will even be able to claim he has honoured the promise made in March to get a cheaper deal than Auckland local politicians had achieved.

Wellington sources say the dollar sum is "considerably less" than the $112 million of the Aucklanders' deal.

However, the two deals are differently structured so that direct comparisons are said to be hard to make.

For instance, as part of the new agreement, the Government has contracted Tranz Rail to handle things such as signalling and track maintenance, providing a revenue stream for the rail company not included in the Auckland region's deal.

The buy-back is a wonderful result for Aucklanders, and not a day too soon with Tranz Rail's present passenger train service contract due to expire in June 2003 and the company not wishing to renew.

Until an access deal was struck, the Auckland region was unable to negotiate to acquire Tranz Rail's more modern rolling stock for the post-2003 service. Nor was it able to seek tenders from new service providers or finalise financing from various funding bodies.

In the case of Auckland City, a $45 million grant from Infrastructure Auckland for the new Britomart station was dependent on this deal. That project can now proceed.

For all this good news, a modern, integrated rapid transport network is still a way off. Indications from Wellington are that Treasury and Ministry of Transport officials are now keen to discuss with Auckland the various modes of transport the region favours for the various corridors.

Put briefly, Auckland's selected option for the main trunk line south is heavy diesel units and on the western line and a new central city loop, light rail units.

The Wellington view is that with the access deal in place, there's a short-term and a longer-term problem to resolve. The short-term issue is to top up the surviving Tranz Rail rolling stock with sufficient new units to get a decent rapid system up and running come 2003.

After that has been resolved comes the decision-making for long-term solutions.

One issue they want to discuss is electrification. The Auckland solution is based on diesel.

Wellington officials are suggesting that by electrification, Auckland could join forces with the Wellington region and bulk shop for trains.

That rather begs the question about the cost of electrifying, but if Government is offering, it widens Auckland options.

Unfortunately electrifying the Auckland system wouldn't save Auckland City the costs of the extractor fans needed to expel diesel fumes from the new Britomart, because the long-haul intercity trains would remain diesel powered.

Another issue is light versus heavy rail. Because of Tranz Rail's need to run freight trains on the southern lines during the day, Auckland officials regarded it as unsafe to run light rail on the same corridor.

Wellington officials are suggesting other possible ways of separating light and heavy rail on this route. One may be to dedicate one line for heavy freight trains and have two lines for light rail passenger trains, the two modes separated by a concrete barrier.

Refusing to sleep too is an option being pushed hard by bus operators, and that's the French-designed guided-bus system which uses an on-board camera to track a white line on the road outside. Looking like a light train, its advantage is its flexibility. Advocates see it cruising local streets then rushing down transport corridors to deliver its loads.

Some see it as an alternative to light rail on existing rail corridors. Whatever its advantages, the chances of it getting access to the rail corridors are doubtful. This mode faces problems under both the Public Works Act and the Treaty of Waitangi Act.

The rail corridors were taken as rail corridors. To change their use would mean offering them back to the original owners first and then buying them back again. It would also open up the prospects of treaty claims.

Both are routes down which no one wants to go. Certainly no one interested in getting rapid solutions to Auckland's transport woes.

There may be some who see Wellington wanting to discuss mode choices as unwanted interference. To me, the more input the better, particularly as it's to the capital that we are looking for as much funding as possible.

Meanwhile, let's celebrate the pending access deal.

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