West Auckland rail replacement bus stuck at level crossing during rush hour, despite train freeze

A passenger on a rail replacement bus had to get off and direct traffic so the bus could navigate through closed barrier arms at a level crossing in West Auckland this morning - despite no trains currently running on Auckland’s rail network.

The bus was was stuck for at least 20 minutes during rush hour at the crossing on Fruitvale Rd in West Auckland before a “saviour” hopped off and asked cars behind to move so that the bus could reverse and make its way around the barrier arms.

The entire network is closed this month for what Auckland Transport describes as critical upgrades and rail replacement buses are taking train commuters instead.

Frustrated commuter Robert Green told the Herald that he boarded the bus at nearby Glen Eden station before the bus became stuck at the closed Fruitvale Rd crossing.

Green said the driver asked passengers if they had any alternative travel options, which he said resulted in some lobbing expletives at him.

The crossing on Fruitvale Rd. Photo / Google

Green said he was “incredibly frustrated by the delay”.

“My experience with Auckland Transport is that they are infuriatingly unreliable, with constant cancellations and issues, trains stop running because of too much rain, sun, heat, or cold,” he said.

“They must be so damn precious.”

Green said a female passenger became the “saviour of the day” by leaving the bus to ask cars to move back so the bus could manoeuvre through the crossing.

“The driver was good,” Green told the Herald.

“He radioed AT about the issue and did everything he could in the situation. It’s the poor management and logistics that’s the problem.

“It absolutely puts me off public transport, I wouldn’t never use it again if that were an option, but I work in the CBD and so driving isn’t really an option and I’m forced to use public transport.”

Adam Olszewski, KiwiRail’s infrastructure operations manager for Auckland metro and greater Auckland, confirmed that there was an issue this morning with the barrier arms at the Fruitvale Rd level crossing which has since been resolved.

Kiwirail, rather than Auckland Transport, is responsible for the track infrastructure.

Asked if freight trains were running on the network during the shutdown for maintenance, KiwiRail responded that “there were no freight trains using the Western Line at this time”.

An Auckland Transport spokesperson said the bus operator was investigating the incident.

Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team.

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