Rail operator promises a smarten up

Train drivers say they felt Veolia tried to blame them after confusion on services running to and from the U2 concert. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland rail operator Veolia has promised to beef up communications with passengers and staff for special events, after commuters were trapped on trains packed with U2 concert-goers.

The company has also confirmed that train drivers followed correct procedures in gaining permission not to stop at intermediate stations on the way to Penrose, where fans were taken for the Irish band's two concerts at Mt Smart Stadium.

"It was assessed that stopping at intermediate stations to allow a limited number of passengers to alight would cause a safety risk," said service delivery general manager Steve Wade.

Mr Wade earlier annoyed drivers by saying trains were timetabled to stop at all stations and he heard no requests for permission to run them as express services to Penrose after crowd control problems at Newmarket.

But he now says that after investigating incidents on both concert nights, the week before last, he is satisfied that permission for trains not to stop was granted by KiwiRail train controllers.

One angry commuter told the Herald that he and others gained assurances from Veolia staff before leaving Britomart that their train would stop at all stations.

He said the train was already crowded at Britomart, and after a chaotic scene at Newmarket in which more fans tried to cram on, it went past other stations without stopping.

That was before a fellow passenger pushed an emergency stop button, enabling him and several other commuters to escape from the train at Ellerslie, from where he went home to Remuera in a taxi.

Mr Wade's acknowledgment that the drivers followed correct procedures came after one told the Herald he and his colleagues were annoyed by what seemed an attempt to lay blame on them.

"The train was ... overloaded when it left Britomart," the driver said.

"When we got to Newmarket, the train was rushed - commuters wanting to get off didn't have a chance, as there were no crowd control barriers."

The driver, who did not want to be named, said his train manager struggled to stop more people getting on before closing the doors on them.

After conferring with the manager, he decided to seek permission "to run express to Penrose".

"We had to consider the comfort and wellbeing of the passengers on board," he said.

"They were jam-packed and it was stifling. We had to get them to Penrose as soon as possible - if someone had passed out it could have been disastrous.

"I really wonder about the wisdom of the decision to combine special trains with commuter services. It is doomed to fail."

He believed he spoke for all train drivers and their crews in saying they really wanted train services for the Rugby World Cup to showcase their capabilities.

"The U2 nights were a great chance to rehearse but things went wrong from a planning point of view."

Mr Wade said drivers and train managers were trained to deal with overcrowding and to "take the appropriate action to mitigate any safety concerns.

"Communications within Veolia operations have now been tightened and will be incorporated within future event plans."

That included turning up the volume on public address systems to make sure passengers could hear announcements as well as improving communications between Veolia and KiwiRail train controllers.

Auckland Transport spokeswoman Sharon Hunter said it was too early to tell whether special-event trains would be combined with commuter services during the Rugby World Cup, as timetables had yet to be finalised.

"This will happen early next year following assessment of trials."

Veolia said it carried 8500 fans taking advantage of a free travel offer to the first U2 concert and about 9500 back to Britomart afterwards.

That compares with more than 16,000 people expected to catch trains to and from Rugby World Cup finals matches next October.