Te Huia services between Hamilton and Auckland have been banned from entering the Auckland metro area.
Te Huia services between Hamilton and Auckland have been banned from entering the Auckland metro area.
Waikato Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive is calling for WorkSafe to investigate the Te Huia train and questioned whether “political pressure” may have caused the service to be rushed and not equipped with appropriate safety technology.
It is a claim Auckland Transport is denying, saying it does not have any decision-making powers about whether services like Te Huia, the passenger rail service from Hamilton to Auckland, can operate through the Super City.
Waka Kotahi is also ordering KiwiRail to fit the Te Huia train with European safety technology before it can be permitted to return to the Auckland metro area, placing an indefinite halt on the service as it has been operating.
It now means passengers face a more than five-hour return journey and an extra $14 a day in travel costs.
Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good questioned whether political pressure was a factor in the ban and said he believed the rail service was rushed.
In August 2021, when officials were discussing the details of Te Huia, they were also discussing whether Auckland should be allowed to take an additional 25 million litres of water from the Waikato River for its residents.
A surprise amendment was put forth by councillor and Te Huia supporter Dave Macpherson, which told staff to include the Te Huia service in the negotiations.
Good said: “That amendment was that Auckland could have more of our water, but that Te Huia must be let into Auckland as part of the deal, basically that staff were to put Te Huia into negotiations with Auckland Council over the deal.”
Good claimed councillors were “being blocked” by Auckland Transport due to concerns congestion would be increased with an additional train on the network.
Auckland Transport (AT) told the Herald it denies Good’s claim.
“What I want to know is whether the strong-arming by politicians was the catalyst for compromising passenger safety?” Good questioned.
“Did Auckland Transport relent so Watercare would be allowed to take more Waikato River water? And if so, did they then not do their due diligence to establish whether Te Huia was properly equipped to access the network?”
AT executive general manager for integrated networks Mark Lambert disputed the notion AT had any part in political pressure.
Lambert said AT had “minor involvement in the early development process for the Te Huia service.
“This involvement was limited to us seeking assurances from KiwiRail that the Te Huia timetable and operations would not disrupt Auckland’s existing passenger rail services,” Lambert said.
“Auckland Transport does not have any decision-making powers relating to whether services like Te Huia can operate through Auckland.
“These decisions are made by KiwiRail as the owner and operator of New Zealand’s rail infrastructure and controller of train movements, and by Waka Kotahi as New Zealand’s rail safety regulator and approver of rail safety cases.”
Don Good, chief executive of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce.
Good also called on WorkSafe to open an investigation into additional circumstances that led to the ban.
It follows two separate incidents in less than a month in which a KiwiRail train driver failed to obey a red signal, putting the train at risk of colliding with another train.
The most recent incident was this week, according to KiwiRail executive general manager of operations Paul Ashton. Ashton said the train was “not carrying passengers” when it overran a signal just north of Hamilton.
“There were no other train movements in this area, and it was outside the Auckland metro region,” Ashton said.
The other incident was three weeks ago and saw Te Huia pass a stop signal near Penrose. After this incident, Ashton said an investigation “opened immediately” and was nearing completion.
The now-required European Train Control System (ETCS) is a predictive safety system used by Auckland metropolitan trains to slow trains approaching a red signal. Currently, it operates only on Auckland Transport trains, and only in the Auckland Metro area. The technology will take 12 months at least to install.
Good also questioned why Te Huia was not fitted with the technology before the service began.
“Should Te Huia have had the right safety system installed before it was granted access to the Auckland metro network?
“If indeed it should have ETCS technology on board and passenger safety was compromised because it didn’t, then we need to understand how that was allowed to happen through an independent WorkSafe process.
“The travelling public both on the service and in Auckland need to be independently reassured that it is a safe service.”
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
