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Auckland transport planners hope to place an order for about 40 electric trains as early as next year, even though funding is far from being secured for the project.
Government rail agency Ontrack also announced yesterday the appointment of a project director for its large share of Auckland's $1 billion-plus drive to electrification.
It has named its northern regional manager, Phil McQueen, to lead the task of electrifying Auckland's railway lines between Papakura and Swanson by 2013.
Mr McQueen, a former national manager of infrastructure for previous rail-track owners Tranz Rail and Toll NZ, worked as a signals engineer on the 1980s electrification of the main trunk line between Palmerston North and Hamilton.
The Auckland network will have a similar 25,000-volt overhead power supply to the main trunk line, which Mr McQueen said last night would give Ontrack a head-start in drawing on a high level of technical and maintenance expertise.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority is preparing to seek worldwide expressions of interest from suppliers of electric trains.
Chief executive Fergus Gammie told the Auckland Regional Council this week that the objective was to place an order for the trains next year for Auckland rail passengers to board by 2013.
Auckland's fleet of 31 diesel trains is struggling to keep up with demand which rose another 14 per cent in the year to June 30, to 5.74 million passenger trips. The transport authority has decided to order another eight to tide it over until electrification.
Mr Gammie said six of these would be six-car trains, compared with the four-car sets now being pulled by refurbished Toll locomotives, and they would remain useful after 2013 for services beyond Papakura and Swanson.
But despite the moves towards electrification, the regional council has yet to receive a clear indication of when the Government intends introducing legislation for a special road-fuel tax to pay for the project.
Council transport policy chairman Joel Cayford told his committee on Tuesday that the timing of legislation both for a regional fuel tax and for long-awaited reforms of the contracting system for subsidised bus and ferry services remained "a bit questionable at the moment. We need these in place to move forward".
A spokesman for Finance Minister Michael Cullen was unable to comment last night on whether the Government was having difficulty securing minor-party support for legislation allowing a regional fuel tax of up to 10c a litre on petrol and diesel.
