KEY POINTS:
How much is a month of disruptions to Auckland's western rail line train commuters worth?
$5-$10.
And the chance of a free trip.
The body that runs Auckland's transport has announced it will subsidise ticketholders for next month as recompense for the prolonged disruptions which have seen trains cancelled and buses having to ferry passengers.
Chief executive of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority Fegus Gammie said: "For April, monthly western line ticket holders will benefit from a $5 reduction in price on their City Monthly tickets and a $10 reduction in price on an All Zones monthly ticket.
"On certain days, daily complimentary tickets will be issued to western line passengers by onboard staff as a token of appreciation for their patience during these construction works."
An All Zone monthly pass costs $160 for an adult and $95 for a child. A City Monthly pass costs $105 for an adult and $65 for a child.
The compensation is to pay back long-suffering commuters who have put up with a month of delays and frustrations.
Rail services on the troubled western line have been scaled back until a signalling fault caused by the construction of duplicate track can be fixed permanently.
Work on a $55 million project to duplicate 7.3km of line between Titirangi Rd in New Lynn and Henderson has put pressure on aged cables along the existing single track, cutting them and short-circuiting signals in several places, particularly around Glen Eden.
That has forced train crews to stop and manually wind points at each new set of tracks, causing disruption if they are unable to reach crossings in time for other passenger services to head the other way.
On Friday, the western line was especially badly hit when morning commuter traffic was snarled after level-crossing barrier arms were brought down a power cut to railway points and signals.
Work - and disruptions - have been going on for about a month now.
Mr Gammie said: "Planned cancellations of western line services with bus or taxi replacements will continue until the signalling system is stabilised."
ARTA staff are now manning stations along the line - New Lynn, Fruitvale, Glen Eden, Sunnyvale and Waitakere - between 6am and 8pm to give "up-to-date disruption information" and assistance.
Mr Gammie said: "ARTA and its operator, Veolia Transport Auckland, regret the disruptions construction work on the line has had on services and hope that the actions we are taking will go some way towards compensating our western line customers.
"The disruptions have occurred as ONTRACK has progressed significant construction works to double track and upgrade the Western Line."
Mr Gammie said Auckland's rail network has been neglected for decades.
He said that doing construction work and trying to maintain services would give an "element of pain before the gain".
- NZHERALD STAFF
