Rapid transit fees $350,000 a month

Legal fees and technical advice from consultants working on opening up Auckland rail corridors for a rapid transit scheme are costing ratepayers up to $350,000 a month.

And the deadline for the multimillion-dollar deal between the Auckland region and Tranz Rail over access to the corridors is being extended by up to three months.

In June, Auckland political leaders and Tranz Rail announced an agreement to open access to the southern and western rail corridors.

Under the agreement, final settlement for the deal was to have been September 30, with Tranz Rail getting $65 million for handing over its lease of the two corridors and $2 million a year for allowing passenger services on the main trunk line heading south.

Yesterday, the chief executive of the Auckland Regional Council, Jo Brosnahan, released cost details for protracted council work surrounding the negotiations with Tranz Rail.

She said the decision to make the information public was made because the cost details had been requested by the Alliance under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

"We decided if people are interested, it might as well be in the public domain."

She said legal advice on the negotiations so far had cost $425,340 and would run at up to $150,000 a month until a deal was struck.

Technical and consultants' advice would cost $1.03 million and included spending of $200,000 a month.

It was now likely that the agreement between Tranz Rail and the region might not be concluded until mid-December, she said.

The deal would be finalised only with the support of Auckland's councils and with the "understanding and support" of the Government.

But the deal does not have the support of all ARC councillors.

Told of the costs yesterday, the deputy chairman of the ARC transport committee, Jack Henderson, said: "They are spending the money on the wrong thing. They are continuing to pursue this [$65 million] deal in the face of a very lukewarm attitude coming from central Government."

Herald Online feature: getting Auckland moving

Participate in our online forum

Herald Online traffic reports