Diesel trains retired after 30 years of hard service
End of the line for the trains that in part saved Auckland's rail network.
This is a post from TodayFM.co.nz originally uploaded in August 2022.
After serving Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland for more than 30 years the noisy little diesel trains that helped, in part, revitalise the city's rail network have finally been retired.
Following the final service at 01:19 early on Saturday morning commuters will no longer be able to travel by train between Pukekohe and Papakura until the second half of 2024.
The Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) on the service are the last to retire, after serving the un-electrified section of the southern line since the electrification of Auckland's network in 2015.
Electrification is just one of the projects being completed along the section of track, with three new stations (Paerātā, Ngākōroa, and Drury) being constructed between Pukekohe and Papakura. The names for these are currently open for consultation with the New Zealand Geographic Board.
KiwiRail’s Chief Operating Officer David Gordon said the service’s suspension was necessary for the electrification project to be completed on time.
"Most of this work will require at least one track, and often two, to be closed at multiple locations along the route," Gordon said.
Passengers will still be able to travel between Pukekohe and Papakura using Auckland Transport's (AT) free 394 bus.
AT’s Interim Chief Executive, Mark Lambert, said bus replacements are a necessary step to deliver a better commuter service in the area.
"The alternative would see rail passengers travelling between Papakura and Pukekohe facing many years of disrupted journeys, and a delayed completion date."
Franklin Local Board Chairperson Andrew Baker said that while it is disruptive to commuters to lose the diesel shuttle he said "It is the price we have to pay to finally get the electrification to Pukekohe that had been long talked about."
"[It's] time for the very old diesels to be put out to pasture."
Baker said he hopes AT considers an express rail replacement bus at peak times.
Pukekohe station will get a massive upgrade and the existing 100-plus-year-old station building will be removed.
oday FM understands the structure will be transported to its new home in Mātangi in December.
Local board member Logan Soole said the station has real significance to local mana whenua and attempts to save the station in situ have been less than successful.
"It's been a point of contention with Auckland Transport over the years looking through the options and the ability to save it," Soole said.
"At the end of the day, it was just an astronomical cost to pick it up, move it, restore it, store it somewhere while it's restored. [It] just wasn't possible for council to do despite the fight."
Andrew Baker is pleased the building is being saved at no cost to ratepayers.
"I look forward to being able to see a refurbished building at no cost to the ratepayers even if I have to travel an hour to see it."
For commuters on the line between Pukekohe and Papakura, the diesel trains have been a blessing and a curse, providing a helpful connection to the electrified network with passengers having to switch from the DMUs to the newer Electric Multiple Units (EMUs).
There was occasionally a missed connection or a long wait in the rain if a connecting service didn’t line up.
Electrification works are expected to be complete with commuter services expected to run from the second half of 2024 and the three new stations to open by 2025.
History of the DMUs
The now 30-year-old DMUs were purchased for AU$56 million from Perth in the 1990s.
Auckland Transport’s (AT) Raymond Siddalls played a crucial role in getting them here.
"We eventually purchased 19 two-car trains. I justified a budget of NZ$10m for the project, this included shipping and interior refurbishment; I also negotiated a 10-year extension-to-operation contract with the Regional Council to justify this investment," Mr Siddalls said.
"These DMUs helped justify the electrification of the Perth rail network, and when they arrived in Auckland, after an interior refurbishment, they attracted daily use by commuters, school students and university students."
Siddalls said the introduction of the DMUs was too successful and the trains didn’t have the capacity to carry all the potential customers.
Before the acquisition, Auckland's train network faced possible closure after a sharp decline in passengers, assisted by the removal of the connecting tram network in the 1950s and an earlier decision not to electrify the network. The investment focus was instead on further developing the motorway system.
In the early 2000s, in an effort to revive the network, Auckland focused on improving services and major infrastructure such as moving the train terminus from the Strand Station to the newly-constructed central hub Britomart.
The units that have served Auckland so well are going to be stored at Glenbrook Vintage railway while the sale takes place and then likely sold to an overseas buyer.
