KiwiRail runs out of money for Auckland’s network rebuild, firefighters battle tricky scrub fire and Joe Biden and Donald Trump line up US election rematch in the latest NZ Herald headlines.
Video / NZ Herald / RNZ / AP
A spokesman for the state-owned railway company told the Herald that KiwiRail “ate up all the original amount of money we needed” doing work on the Eastern Line tracks, which is stage two of the project.
“Then [NZ Transport Agency] Waka Kotahi [NZTA] was able to give us another $75 million - that’s enough to do the Western Line from Newmarket to New Lynn, [stage three] which is what we’re doing now,” the spokesman said.
However, KiwiRail has had to go cap in hand to NZTA and the Government to continue on the full project.
“We don’t have the money. It’s not funded - nothing west of New Lynn, not even [minor] drainage work,” the spokesman said.
Full replacements of railway foundations, tracks and sleepers over the whole network, which KiwiRail said was “crucial ... to get Auckland’s rail network up to standard ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link”, depends on any further funding.
Work involved in the full rail network rebuild was important in removing heat and temporary speed restrictions, problems that have plagued the railway network and hit headlines in the past month as it created delays for commuters.
Auckland Transport chief executive Dean Kimpton told the council’s transport and infrastructure committee this morning that rail disruptions will continue in various forms until a minimum level of service is resolved across the network.
He said AT knows commuters love travelling by train, but when there are cancellations commuters don’t necessarily shift from trains to buses but don’t travel or use a car.
The Herald has approached NZTA for comment.
Minister of Transport Simeon Brown told the Herald on Monday the Government was “working through a number of funding issues with KiwiRail”.
Brown said: “At this stage, we’re really focused on... they say there’s some issues, so we’re working through what’s needed.”
He said the Government Policy Statement on land transport prioritised funding for rail in Auckland.
Regarding the funding blowout on the Eastern Line works, KiwiRail’s spokesman said it happened because “we realised there was a lot of work to do”.
Work involved in the full rail network rebuild was important in removing heat and temporary speed restrictions. Photo / Alex Burton
He said: “To be honest with you, I don’t think the foundations [on the Eastern Line] had been replaced for over 100 years. So basically that ate up all the original amount of money that we needed.”
KiwiRail has had to prioritise funds left from the $75m injection towards other minor works while discussions with NZTA and the Government continued.
The company had to make “a completely pragmatic decision” to only work on the city’s “core” railway network while discussions continued, its spokesman said.
From March 10, KiwiRail will complete drainage improvements, replacing ballast, and rails and sleepers as required between Newmarket and New Lynn and south of Ōtāhuhu. This should be completed by early May.
The work that will be done on the Western Line will see train schedules slashed as services will only be able to run on one railway track. But West Auckland councillor Shane Henderson questioned the timing of the work and why big projects like this could be done overseas without majorly disrupting commuters in the meantime.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
