Weekly Review No.58
Weekly Review No.58
This week, KiwiRail takes to the tracks over the long weekend, bus bike racks see nighttime restrictions and the Grimace bus takes on Auckland City.
Welcome as it has been a short week and I have been travelling for work, welcome to a condensed Weekly Review, don’t forget you can stay informed with real-time transport updates by following us on X/Twitter.
Auckland’s $5.5b City Rail Link is facing a complex technical work in the lead-up to the first train test this year.
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith from The Spinoff toured almost every western, eastern and southern suburb, from every single train line in Auckland.
Auckland Council has thumbed its nose at Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s proposals for spending cuts in Auckland. Instead, the council has incorporated his cuts into a new transport budget that reflects its own priorities, under the new budget, some major local projects will be deferred, including the Rosedale station on the Northern Busway, a new Botany interchange and the construction of new electric ferries.
A temporary night-time bike rack usage restriction will be placed on all Metro Canterbury buses following a safety notice from NZTA, the alert has been sent to all public transport authorities across NZ, asking for operators to check their buses to see which are affected and to resolve any issues accordingly.
Some bus models are fitted with bike racks that can partially obscure headlights, particularly at night, Metro's restriction will be in place from 2 November 2024 between 8.45 pm to 5.45 am, restriction times for the months up to and including in March 2025 are shown below.
The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi industry alert has been published on the NZTA site, the alert contains images of the poor headlight illumination, how the issue was discovered and what can be done to fix the issue.
Police have increased visibility at transport hubs across Tāmaki Makaurau following the fatal Onehunga bus attack and will continue with this increased presence over the long weekend.
During the Auckland Labour Weekend rail closure KiwiRail is undertaking a rebuild of a section of the Morningside Drive level crossing.
Ngā Mihi Rail has shared a video of one of their crews preparing their gear to work on Tunnel #1 on the East Coast Main Line during the Labour Weekend long weekend block of line.
Titan Contracting Group has shared photos and video of the work their crews are completing near Papakura Station during the Labour Weekend block of line, this crew is renewing 900m of track.
On board public bus “support officers” are attending about 50 incidents a month in Canterbury on their mission to make the network safer.
At Homai Station crews are making full use of the long weekend network closure to drill supports for the new ramp, prepare the existing staircase for removal and reconstruct existing supports to support the new ramp.
Ferrymead Railway in Christchurch delighted around 300 train enthusiasts of all ages on Sunday, with more expected on Monday, as it honoured its 60th birthday.
More than 8000 new homes are set to be fast-tracked on the outskirts of Wellington, but the region's public transport plan is up in the air.
Wellington’s CentrePort is at loggerheads with Napier Port over where a new ferry terminal should be built, as a Government decision on the future of Cook Strait drags on.
The garden beds outside Wellington Railway Station have been replanted with 7,400 impatiens.
The rebuild of Middlemore station continues with the new platform stairs having opened, work is underway to remove the old stairs, crews are constructing the new retaining wall for the third main, and the new overbridge stairs and the new northern overbridge were lifted into place over the long weekend closure.
From today, passengers on GoBay buses have the opportunity to share their thoughts and help improve their bus services, the survey will close on 12 November.
While Ōtautahi Christchurch might be the “Copenhagen of the South” when it comes to biking, taking Public Transport in this city is a chore.
The new Auckland Frequent Transit Network map has been shared in Mark Ovenden's new book 'Iconic Transit Maps: The World's Best Designs', the map shows the Auckland Train Network in a post-CRL state and frequent buses across the city including an opened Penlink, the map does feature some placeholder details and non-finalised elements as noted by Sam van der Weerden.
Madeleine Chapman from The Spinoff writes: I hate the sexy Grimace bus, It’s not just a bad ad, it’s a symbol of everything rotten in our lives.
Friend of NZ Transit Buzz Shaun Baker has shared images of the construction progress at the Beresford Square entrance to Karanga-a-Hape.
Four rail crossings will be permanently closed next year across Wairarapa, with timing pencilled in for mid-to-late 2025.
A 1.5km section of the Heathcote Express cycleway is being closed until rail upgrades are completed.
Work to improve public transport in Whanganui is reaping results, with residents more likely to use services now than they were two years ago.
Otago Regional Council announced there will be a temporary night-time restriction on the use of bike racks on Dunedin and Queenstown buses from this Saturday, 2 November, after NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) issued a safety notice.
The Art Deco Festival will have its first steam train excursions in a decade after a decision by Kāpiti Coast enthusiasts Steam Incorporated to return to Napier in February.
KiwiRail has shared images from the recent Auckland and Wellington long weekend block of lines, in Auckland crews worked across over 50 sites, carrying out a range of maintenance tasks and making significant progress on upgrade projects ahead of the CRL opening.
In Wellington, crews completed various works, including installing new signalling ducting along the Wairarapa line, replacing tracks inside the Remutaka Tunnel and upgrading the signalling equipment at Wellington Station.
City Rail Link has shared photos of the ceiling rods being installed at the Wellesley St entrance to Te Waihorotiu Station.
New bus lanes along Fred Taylor Drive will go live on Monday 4 November operating 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday.
City Rail Link has shared images of the installation progress of the surface-level pavers at Karanga-a-Hape Station’s Beresford Square entrance, each paver can weigh up to 75kg and crews will install roughly 21,000 pavers.
Via Greater Auckland: Henderson Station Upgrade - will it improve the customer experience?
Two of KiwiRail’s new DM locomotives have arrived at Christchurch’s Lyttelton port and will spend the next six months undergoing testing and commissioning at the Middleton depot.
Interislander is implementing an array of improvements, especially in change and contractor management, to ensure the successful future integration of new systems on its ferries, Interislander Executive General Manager Duncan Roy says.
Work has begun on reinstating the bluestone wall on Albert Street, the wall was moved slightly east to allow for the construction of Te Waihorotiu station.
Just a few things to highlight on YouTube, slpnzrail has put together a fantastic video of the River City Express which ran on the 20th of October 2024.
Over at The Wall Street Journal as part of their Pro Perfected series, they get a train architect to design the perfect commuter train.