Weekly Review No.38
This week, progress on the third main at Middlemore continues, Fullers360 Auckland-Coromandel ferry service remains suspended, and the North Auckland Line is scheduled to reopen in late July.
Welcome to the Weekly Review, a quick apology from me if the tail end of this week is a bit light on content unfortunately I have been under the weather.
Keep yourself informed by following our Twitter/X for real-time transport news updates, if you’ve happened to miss anything from the past week, don't worry, we've got you covered – catch up with the Weekly Review below.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has released a revised concept for the Melling intersection on State Highway 2, the upgrade will require the existing Melling Train Station to be relocated, NZ Transit Buzz understands the design still allows for the railway line to be extended at a later date.
Queenstown's public transport will reach record-high patronage this year – however, the service is at capacity, without further costly upgrades to public transport, traffic congestion in fast-growing Queenstown may well get worse.
The New Zealand Geographic Board is consulting on proposals to restore two Māori place names in Auckland: renaming an area on Auckland’s waterfront to Te Tōangaroa (near the Strand) and correcting the spelling of Takanini to Takaanini.
Auckland Transport corrected the train station name to Takaanini in 2018 after it was requested by local iwi.
KiwiRail’s Northland rail upgrade programme director Eric Hennephof said the Northland line was now expected to reopen to freight trains in late July, as long as testing uncovered no major problems with the rebuilt track.
KiwiRail has shared a by-the-numbers update of the Auckland Rail Network Rebuild.
Dug up & replaced 12kms of foundations
Upgraded 53km of drainage
Lifted & replaced 6.2km of track
Dug up & replaced 28.4km of ballast
Upgraded 12 turnouts
A new fence at Sylvia Park backing onto the train tracks has been fully installed and an updated kiss and ride has been installed near the entrance to the station's lifts.
Auckland trains will run on a reduced timetable as rail workers strike over workloads, it was possible the action could last a month if an agreement could not be reached the Rail and Maritime Transport Union has said.
Wellington councillors will not be putting the Golden Mile project on hold, but they have committed to more transport planning for the central business district.
Thames Coromandel District Council has confirmed that Fullers360 Auckland-Coromandel ferry service will remain on hold until further notice, Fullers360 says it remains committed to bringing back the service in the future.
Cara Luxmore is offering a bus service from Rangiora to Mt Hutt five days a week when the ski resort opens on June 14, there are 8 stops - Rangiora, Cust, Oxford, Waddington, Coalgate, Glentunnel, Windwhistle and Mt Hutt Lodge.
The government has slashed $47 million in funding that would have aimed to improve bus drivers' conditions over the next three years.
Residents and visitors could be travelling around Queenstown on electric buses by 2035 if the public transport business case endorsed this week by councillors goes ahead - but it relies on a fair few assumptions.
The next stage in a flood protection scheme for Hokitika now delayed by 10 months should get underway soon after getting written approval from KiwiRail.
Tranzit Coachlines Taranaki’s electric bus in New Plymouth has reduced fuel consumption by 2400 litres since it was introduced in March 2024, it has since travelled 7000km, reduced fuel consumption and avoided 6.2 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere.
Auckland Transport’s first new electric ferries will be powered by locally generated electricity, helping to reduce fuel consumption by 1.5 million litres annually and carbon dioxide emissions by 4,000 metric tons annually.
Taking one of New Zealand’s most isolated train journeys is as safe as can be thanks to the crew at Dunedin Railways.
Auckland Transport has officially confirmed the Kingdon Street pedestrian level crossing in Newmarket is closing permanently on 22 June.
The first of two 22kV power supply cables at Karanga-a-Hape Station has been livened, the 1.2KM cable runs in the southbound tunnel from Te Waihorotiu Station and the second cable is arriving from Maungawhau Station within the next month.
Auckland Transport has been advised by CAF, the organisation that maintains the city's trains, that its unionised employees will be taking industrial action from 11 June, AT expects services will begin to be impacted from next week.
Unionised employees will only be doing scheduled checks on trains, and will not do any other repairs or breakdown-related work.
Third main works are progressing well at Middlemore Station with crews beginning work to reinstate the platform shelter, a small platform extension has been added and the platform extension is slightly higher than the existing platform edge.
Crews have also started adding plastic casings to the rebar before concrete pours begin.
Picton's Interislander ferry terminal will be demolished later this month, after sitting unused for almost a year, a new temporary terminal building and passenger walkway, built for the Interislander to handle passenger and luggage services, opened last June.
KiwiRail has detailed the work underway between Papakura and Pukekohe as part of the Rail Network Rebuild.
Excavate & replace 3,513 metres of formation
Improve 6,087 metres of drainage
Lift & replace 44 metres of track
Excavate & replace 12,140 metres of ballast
East by West Ferries (EBWF) is proposing adding a one-off late-night sailing after the Hurricanes v Chiefs semi-final this Saturday 15th June, EBWF needs 25 passengers to book for this service to go ahead.
Auckland Transport has shared an aerial photo of the Eastern Busway construction showing Tī Rākau Drive looking towards Botany.
The project to reopen the rail line north of Whangārei will remain on hold while design work on a new rail link to Marsden Point is carried out so the two projects can be aligned.
The scaffolding surrounding Te Waihorotiu Station has now been removed from all sides revealing the sky element and the upper façade design treatment is an expression of the tears of Ranginui (the sky father).
The National Ticketing Solution (Motu Move) is launching first with MyWay by Metro services in Timaru this December, Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri districts will transition to the new system as soon as practical in 2025, buses are already being wired in preparation for the new Motu Move equipment to be fitted onto vehicles closer to going live.
Nelson City Council has shared that in May 2024 there were 1,196 bikes loaded onto the eBus.
With Te Huia now having funding secure through to 2026, now is the time to secure its future as a permanent service. Here are six ideas on how to do this.
On Wednesday morning, we examined some of Auckland’s level crossings the necessity of removing them across the train network and whether we should be seeking tips from our neighbours across the ditch.
More than 350 submissions have been received on the Taranaki Regional Council’s proposal to refresh the region’s public transport network, but an advocate for using buses is giving the overhaul only a “fair” pass.
Queenstown tour bus driver Harry Guitry reckons the two $60 fines dished out for his parking in a bus zone on Camp Street were "one step too far".
Wellington Regional Councillor and Transport Chair Thomas Nash has shared a by-the-numbers breakdown of public transport usage in Wellington.
50,000 people take the bus on a busy weekday
25,000 people take the train on a busy weekday
180,000 people take at least one public transport trip every month
CityLink Whangārei is introducing SchoolLink a new bus service exclusively for some intermediate and high school students, SchoolLink starts on Monday 17 June it will be free for the first week then $1.00 per trip afterwards.
There will be five SchoolLink routes.
SL1 Onerahi to Whangārei Intermediate
SL2 Onerahi to Kamo High School
SL4 Raumanga to Whangārei Boys and Girls High
SL5 Raumanga to Tikipunga High
SL6 Raumanaga to Kamo High
An additional route SL3 Onerahi to Whangarei Boys and Girls High, is also under consideration.
In March, KiwiRail carried 146,000 tonnes of logs from Murupara to the port at Mount Maunganui, the highest monthly tonnage for the year (only bettered by a few tonnes in August 2022.)
Recently KiwiRail completed a replacement of the entire Bay of Plenty log fleet, 450 old wagons made way for 367 new ones, including larger three-bunk 60ft models.
Ashburton's aspirations for public transport will need to be formed for a sales pitch early next year, the district missed the boat for the coming financial year but there is hope it can prepare a proposal to take to Environment Canterbury for consideration next year.
Crews have installed the biggest door on the Maungawhau Station site, a gigantic 4.3 x 15.4-meter roller door at the front entrance of the station building the door arrived from Belgium and the installation process took two weeks.
More than $30 million was spent reopening a mothballed Northland railway line before the partly-completed project was put on hold, figures obtained by RNZ show.
Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson has shared that as of 26 May 2024, 438,248 passengers have used the WX1 service since it started.
City Rail Link has shared progress photos of the terrazzo-style tiles being installed at Te Waihorotiu Station, the tiles are laid on top of a bedding screed, which sits on the concrete floor base, beneath the tiles the team are also installing hearing loops.
Due to the refurbishment of the Tryphena Wharf on Aotea, Great Barrier Island during the month of July, SeaLink’s Tryphena Sailings on July 10th & 24th will be diverted to Whangaparapara, SeaLink hopes to be back to their regular winter timetable from August.
Weka Pass Railway has replaced, packed and rescrewed over 100 sleepers with the help of Jeff Hislop Contractor, over the next couple of weeks Weka Pass Railway will make minor adjustments to alignment to make this section of track straight.
Metro Canterbury has shared a photo of the ‘box-shaped attachment’ that is being installed at the doors on some of their buses ahead of Motu Move tag on/off equipment being installed, the box likely contains electrical connections and mounting plates.
This week we are highlighting the YouTube channel DL9786 which shares ‘railway cab view videos from New Zealand's North Island’ It’s quite an interesting channel that shows sections of the tracks many wouldn’t usually see.
That Melling intersection looks a mess of cross-over traffic and lights constrained flows. Seems the loooong offramps, presumably for queuing, are an admission of failure?