Passengers pile into Auckland Transport train during after-school rush

An Auckland commuter was shocked to find themself crammed on an afternoon train service today as school children piled into the carriage.

After nearly two months of lockdown, with physical distancing rules still in place, the passenger said train goers were "bunched together" and stood packed in the aisle when all of the seats were filled.

"No one was checking how many people were coming on board," he said.

"We'd been in lockdown so long and to go into a place where physical distancing wasn't being observed, it was really alarming."

An Auckland commuter said they were aghast to see children sitting elbow-to-elbow aboard the train. Photo / Supplied

At alert level 2, people are urged to maintain physical distancing while out and about, staying 2m apart in public and in retail stores, and 1m apart in the workplace, at cafes, or restaurants.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

As the westbound train pulled into the Newmarket station shortly after 3.15pm, schoolchildren began to pile onboard, sitting shoulder to shoulder.

But just a few stops later, all the seats were filled as commuters crammed inside.

"The train got really full - so full that children were standing in the corridors. They were bunched right up, there was no physical distancing whatsoever.

"I'm not blaming the children, they need to get home from school. But I think it needs to be managed better."

The experience was "insanity" when compared to the strict rules hospitality venues and bars have to operate under at level 2, the passenger said.

"I've seen that AT buses are counting how many people are aboard. I can't understand the inconsistencies between buses and trains."

An Auckland commuter was shocked to see a packed carriage with students standing shoulder to shoulder. Photo / Supplied

An Auckland Transport spokesman said it was disappointing to see that some passengers hadn't followed physical distancing rules.

"We will be reminding the schools and their students what the rules are, everyone has to play their part.

He said that schoolchildren had been mixing with other customers at the Newmarket and Grafton stations, leading to Transdev staff working to solve the issue on three Western Line services from Britomart - at 3.02pm, 3.12pm and 3.22pm.

"Transdev staff ensure that customers do not board three out of the six carriages at Britomart and Parnell," he said.

"When the trains arrive at Grafton and Newmarket, they are met by Transdev staff, AT Transport Officers, Aviation Security officers, Armourguard staff and school teachers who by then have briefed and organised the children on the platform."

Schoolchildren then board the carriages reserved for pupils and are monitored by staff at the Transdev Operations Centre throughout the rest of their journey.

"Public announcements from the Operations Centre are made throughout in support of the process."

Overall, those aboard AT services have maintained good levels of physical distancing, he said.

It comes as Air New Zealand passengers brazenly burst their bubbles aboard a recent Auckland to Queenstown flight, standing shoulder to shoulder in the aisle.

"I felt vulnerable, really unsafe," a passenger on the flight told The Herald.

"That disembarkment ruined everything I've been doing for the last two months.

"Every rule has been broken in this five minutes of disembarking the plane. That one process could restart the whole thing."

An Air New Zealand spokesman said it appeared the disembarkation process on the flight did not take place in accordance with the airline's new process and staff would be looking into the incident.