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Auckland passenger rail services are expanding too fast for train timetables to keep up.
As new timetables came into force yesterday morning on all three railway lines, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority's website was advising passengers of an extra service which had not made it into the latest print run.
A new limited stop service during the evening peak hours on the southern rail line will leave Britomart at 6.07pm and stop at Newmarket, Middlemore and Manurewa before reaching Papakura at 6.49pm.
Rail operator Veolia Transport's spokeswoman Tessa Marjoram said the new printed timetables were planned about a month ago, to capitalise on the extra flexibility from the $55 million duplication of the western line, between Henderson and New Lynn.
They include a doubling of week-day peak-time services between Henderson and Britomart to four an hour, more Saturday trains on the southern and eastern lines, and regular train stops at the new Sylvia Park station.
Since then, and in response to strong customer demand, the addition of another refurbished locomotive to the fleet had allowed the new southern service to be organised.
Ms Marjoram said that followed uncertainty over whether a signalling slot would be available before an existing all-stops train leaving Britomart four minutes later, at 6.11pm.
She acknowledged that many passengers were asking for extra carriages to be joined to existing trains, but there was not enough rolling stock available to do that.
The Auckland rail fleet has 31 trains, including 14 locomotive-hauled SA sets which have been refurbished at the Hillside railway workshops in Dunedin.
Another three train sets on order are not due to arrive until the middle of next year.
The transport authority is still considering how to cope with increasing demand between then and when a new fleet of electric trains will be commissioned by 2013.
