Weekly Review No.52
Weekly Review No.52
This week, Palmerston North gets real-time tracking timetables, KiwiRail moves to a new metro maintenance schedule in Auckland and Metro Canterbury launches a new ferry.
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Weekly Review, it’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, I just want to quickly highlight a few things related to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and public transport.
Want to expand your use of Reo Māori within public transport? try some of these words complied by Shaun Baker from Multimodal Adventures.
Pahi - bus
Tereina - train
Waka tere - ferry
Tūnga pahi - bus stop
Teihana tereina- train station
Waka tūmatanui - public transport
City Rail Link has released a few videos explaining the Māori design elements at the new CRL stations, check them out below!
Auckland Transport also released a video about Josy Peita, the voice behind the te reo Māori announcements you hear across the Auckland Transport network.
Before we get into the Weekly Review a heads up, this weekend a special Every Auckland Station post is going live, we are taking a brief detour to the capital to check out Wellington Railway Station, this post will be live from 10 am Sunday here on Substack and over on the Every Auckland Station X/Twitter account.
We regularly post to our X/Twitter account updated with the latest public transport news and events. If you haven’t already, follow us to stay informed!
KiwiRail’s old rail maintenance depot and operations building in Picton is being dismantled rather than demolished, the cladding, roof panels and internal steelwork have been taken to a local recycling depot and concrete wall panels will be crushed and turned into roading aggregate.
Attacks on bus drivers in Auckland are increasing but police and AT say confirmation bias and media reports have contributed to a feeling that things are much worse than they really are.
Black Cat and Metro Canterbury’s new Diamond Harbour ferry, Black Pearl, has begun operations.
KiwiRail’s Mana Whenua partners recently blessed and unveiled the Māori artwork integrated into Pukekohe Station, the station features the work of Ngāti Te Ata, Te Akitai Waiohuia, and Ngāti Tamaoho, and reflects the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Plans have been lodged to build 110 units on a prime vacant section near Napier CBD, that site is the former home of the Napier railway yards and has sat vacant for about 30 years.
KiwiRail will be moving to a new metro maintenance schedule, crews will have access to the rail network between 9 pm - 4 am every Sunday to Thursday, the schedule will be used from just north of Otahuhu Station and will include the Eastern, Western and Onehunga lines.
The upcoming fortnight’s work schedule has been released, KiwiRail will update the schedule regularly on their website.
City Rail Link has released a number of photos of the new CRL tunnels, CRL says the tunnel fit-out is ‘virtually complete’.
KiwiRail’s crews in North Otago recently completed stage 2 of the rebuild of the Merton Rail Bridge, KR are preparing to fully replace the rail on the bridge next year.
Metlink announced there will be ongoing disruptions to passenger rail services from Tuesday 17 September because of industrial action planned by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union.
Shaun Baker (@sbaker1428) has shared a number of photos of the works around Maungawhau Station.
The government’s war on rail is setting New Zealand up for failure, says the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, the call comes as the government cuts $300 million more from rail investment to spend on roads that primarily benefit trucking.
An “innovative” ferry proposal for Tauranga has been shelved over cost and patronage concerns, Bay of Plenty Regional Council declined to help fund the service at a meeting on Thursday.
Auckland’s transport budget is facing a $600 million hole because of the Government’s land transport funding decisions.
Auckland Transport's work on the Half Moon Bay Ferry Terminal Upgrade has been delayed with work due to start at the end of September 2024 or by early October 2024, delays in designs and approvals have impacted the start date.
Figures from Te Huia show that the first 7 months of 2024 averaged 7,339 passengers per month, this is a 27% increase over the 2023 average of 5,781.
Auckland Transport has created a page for the upcoming Homai Train Station level crossing removal project, a new ramp will be built, footpaths will be upgraded, and the level crossings will be closed.
Auckland Transport has released the September 2024 Eastern Busway project update, as part of the update they shared a photo of the busway construction progress showing the area by Tī Rākau Drive with the intersection with the South Eastern Highway in the foreground and looking towards Botany
If there were 50 ways to please the environment, one of the first might be to hop on a bus in Taranaki on Friday.
Fare capping is coming for Wellington as new data shows that the capital, by one measure, is second only to Beijing in China for public transport affordability.
Mark Rosser, can pick up his keys and drive to Nelson’s newest mall. Unfortunately, he’s finding the closest bus stops to the newly opened Nelson Junction shopping centre are “just too far away”.
Real-time tracking timetables have been installed at a number of stops in Palmerston North, the timetables also have audio buttons that announce the next arrivals for vision-impaired passengers.
Metro Canterbury has shared a video of its new Metro ferry, Black Pearl being lowered into the water.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is seeking feedback to be implemented by bylaw to increase the operating window of the emergency stopping lanes as bus-only lanes along SH16, see the proposed changes outlined in the maps below.
The Port of Auckland is changing its evening stand-down hours for cruise ships extending the time cruise ships can’t manoeuvre in the Downtown Ferry Basin by an hour to minimise disruption for ferry users.
The union representing Wellington train staff aren't ruling out a full strike if today's industrial action doesn't work.
Indonesian company PT Inka will manufacture and deliver 450 platforms, which are set to arrive in New Zealand by the end of next year.
The completion of live emergency training exercises also served to satisfy CRL, Link Alliance and Auckland One Rail that effective plans are in place, and they can now move on to the next phase of testing trains.
Work is progressing well on Steam Incorporated's Dc 4375, new steel has been welded into the end collision posts, the main generator brushes and holders have been removed, the headstock brake cocks have been refurbished and air reservoirs are being serviced.
Busit is introducing new timetables for the 23 Raglan and 22 Eastern Connector services from September 30, the 23 will see year-round service to Manu Bay, a change from school holidays only & the 22 will see earlier departures and arrivals for Matamata.
We kicked off Wednesday with a look at how Auckland’s Explorer Bus can enhance its routes, stops, and services to offer an even better hop-on-hop-off experience.
Ways to Improve Auckland’s Explorer Bus!
Because of industrial action, eight Metlink train services were cancelled on Tuesday between 12am and 12pm, seven of which were replaced by buses, Metlink spokesperson Samantha Gain told RNZ.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown received very early advice on hiking the contribution passengers make to public transport costs to 50% from about 10-30% now, meaning higher fares.
Mayors say they’re tens of millions short on transport funding after the Government didn’t deliver what they’d requested.
KiwiRail's digital team joined up with the Wairarapa Road Safety Council to help Solway School students practise their ‘Steely Stare’ at level crossings, using a specially designed digital simulator.
The owner of the Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry service has reported a net profit of $19.6 million for the 2024 year – a 65.7% increase on the prior period.
City Rail Link has shared photos of the rods which mimic the stems of harakeke and the movement of the Waihorotiu stream being installed at Te Waihorotiu Station.
City Rail Link has conducted virtual tunnel evacuations with volunteers, CRL says by simulating the tunnels in Virtual Reality, they can see how different people respond to emergency instructions on signs and voice announcements.
Auckland Transport has confirmed to NZ Transit Buzz that they have completed the rollout of new HOP card readers across buses, train stations and ferry terminals.
Contract talks between Transdev and the Rail and Maritime Transport Union have been brought forward after industrial action caused major disruption to the Wellington train network.
Public safety could be compromised by the government's decision not to co-fund a raft of infrastructure renewal projects proposed for the Metlink public transport network.
Americarna and Steam Incorporated are excited to announce the addition of a heritage rail experience for Americarna 2025.
City Rail Link has shared a photo of the bike racks being installed outside of Maungawhau Station.
Workers have been conducting geotechnical investigations to determine where a maintenance facility for 18 new four-car trains could be built at the Masterton rail yard.
Around 50 members of FIRST Union employed by SeaLink have voted to initiate rolling strikes, submitting multiple strike notices, SeaLink operates ferries connecting Auckland, Waiheke Island, and Great Barrier Island.
Technology is leading the way in helping make sure the Bay of Plenty’s public transport network evolves to meet the region’s growing population.
Wellington Regional Council has today released documents showing that, in partnership with Metlink, more than $2.8 million in “cosmetic upgrades” has been spent on Naenae subway station.
Metlink understands that bargaining talks will take place Friday 20 September and mediation will be brought forward from Thursday 26 September to Monday 23 September.
A Kiwi travelling abroad was on a train in Slovakia, when she heard a familiar accent come over the speakers, It was a New Zealand accent, making an announcement in a train in Slovakia. RNZ Night’s Emile Donovan talks to the man behind the voice, Gavin Shoebridge.
Darren Davis from Adventures in Transit Land shared nine public transport lessons that can be learnt from Perth.
Finally, on Saturday night, the 11th European Tram Driver Championship was held in Frankfurt, 21 nations went head-to-head with competitors showcasing their driving expertise across 6 events, including tram billiards and emergency stops, I have linked the highlights and the full English language live steam for you to enjoy below.