KEY POINTS:
Auckland rail services were returning to normal timetables early this afternoon after the repair of yet another signals failure.
Rail operator Veolia Transport brought in buses from mid-morning to transfer passengers between New Lynn and Waitakere, but earlier peak-time services ran 25 minutes late while train crews manually adjusted signals along the way.
Government rail agency Ontrack, which is overseeing major construction work blamed for considerable disruption over the past fortnight, said today's problem was caused by contamination from earthworks of its signalling circuitry.
"Again we apologise for the disruptions this is causing," said spokeswoman Jenni Austin.
"This is a consequence of the difficulties we face trying to keep a single track railway operating in the middle of a major construction project."
Today's trouble follows major disruption on Monday after a points failure at the Newmarket junction and a power cut to signals and level-crossing barrier arms on the western line caused by contractors working on the track duplication project.
