Commuters boarding a Metlink train at Paremata Station, Porirua. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Commuters boarding a Metlink train at Paremata Station, Porirua. Photo / Mark Mitchell
OPINION
Mistakes happen. To err is human, after all. But it’s rare for a government agency to endure a week quite as bad as the one KiwiRail has just suffered.
The state-owned enterprise has lurched from one mass failure affecting the lives of thousands of furious passengers (Wellingtontrains balls-up) to the next (an Auckland-wide train network failure that brought the entire system to its knees).
Chuck into the mix today’s release of a Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report, which found a failed rubber component overdue for replacement was responsible for leaving hundreds of Interislander ferry passengers drifting towards rocks in January, and you have what is generally regarded as a proverbial cluster ...
My journey to work this morning took nearly two hours as a result of a power failure which brought our biggest’s city’s train network to a grinding halt. Tens of thousands of others were similarly affected, with many people missing important meetings, hospital appointments and job interviews, or simply being late for work, school, childcare drop-offs, etc, etc.
Auckland Transport and deputy mayor Desley Simpson were quick to throw KiwiRail under the bus (pun intended), with the city’s leaders blasting the rail operator and demanding a plan to ensure the capitulation is not repeated.
Commuters awaiting services at Wellington Railway Station earlier this week. Photo / Azaria Howell
Today’s disaster comes on the back of chaos on the Wellington train network earlier in the week, in which hundreds of services were cancelled across three days after a failure of maintenance scheduling was compounded by KiwiRail’s only high-tech track evaluation machine breaking down.
Wellington city leaders lambasted KiwiRail and its chair David McLean was forced to apologise to MPs at a select committee hearing, admitting: “We let the people of Wellington down.”
That particular failure resulted in KiwiRail bosses being hauled before Transport Minister Michael Wood for an explanation – an awkward meeting one would expect is to be repeated after this morning’s monumental debacle.
The Herald asked Wood’s office whether he has sought a briefing on the latest catastrophe or summoned KiwiRail bosses to his office.
He said today’s passenger rail disruptions were “incredibly frustrating for Auckland commuters”.
The rapid review into KiwiRail announced earlier this week would examine whether the agency was “adequately focused on providing customer service that is fit for purpose”.
“It’s important to note that while the review was triggered by the events in Wellington it is not limited to those events.”
Auckland councillor Mike Lee, who was instrumental in the revival of rail in Auckland, says he’s not sure what sort of apology long-suffering Auckland public transport users can expect.
“When trains in Wellington this week were slowed to 70kp/h and KiwiRail senior executives had to make humiliating apologies to Parliament, here in Auckland train speeds are reduced to zero.
“While equipment failures are as usual blamed, clearly there is something deeply dysfunctional in present-day corporate management systems – especially so in public transport.”
Commuters who opt to leave their cars at home to avoid choked roads and who choose public transport in a bid to help save the planet are entitled to expect a service that is not only reliable but fit for purpose.
KiwiRail bosses who earn fat taxpayer-funded salaries are responsible for delivering train services that get people where they need to go, on time.
The events of this week are an indictment on the state-owned enterprise and serious questions need to be asked by its minister.
