Weekly Review No.109
Inside this edition: Henderson Station platform works progress, Auckland Transport gets festive and Locomotive Josephine gets a fresh set of pinstripes.
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Rail level crossings between Wellington and Palmerston North will need to be upgraded before new battery-electric trains can run on the Capital Connection.
Fire and Emergency Te Hiku Regional Headquarters recently hosted a comprehensive series of tabletop exercises focused on emergency preparedness within the City Rail Link tunnel and station environments.
Works at Henderson Station have progressed further with the construction of a new protection/retaining wall against the council building. New platform edges have also been lifted into place on the new platform 3 and the existing platform 2. A map showing the works underway has also been added to the temporary fencing on the platforms.
Te Huia have launched a survey on the future of the services, which is open until November 30. Te Huia says this information will help to shape what Te Huia might look like in the future.
Christchurch company Whoosh is a step closer to building a demo version of its ‘Uber in the sky’ transport system in Queenstown’s Remarkables Park.’ Whoosh expects its demo to be running by early 2027.
Auckland Transport has announced that 200 of the 270 train drivers are now City Rail Link certified.
To become CRL-certified, drivers undergo:
Theory training
Simulator sessions
Station familiarisation
Hands-on tunnel driving practice
Drivers still have further training with emergency scenario testing with Fire and Emergency, whole network timetable tests, as well as regulatory checks.
The Dunedin Tunnels Trail project has received a $2 million injection from the government. The trails are set to span the 15km between Dunedin and Mosgiel, linking the centres through two historic railway tunnels.
Seven new apprentices will take part in the Oamaru Steam and Rail Society’s education and mentoring programme. Steam and Rail general manager Harry Andrew said the candidates, aged 14-18 years old, were recommended by schools or Corrections.
Steam Incorporated and Pounamu Tourism Group held their first test run of their new regular cruise programme on Monday. One of the cruise service runs is the Mountaineer, which started on Tuesday. The Mountaineer uses the former Capital Connection carriages.
In addition to the Auckland Transport branded ‘Take a Joy Ride’ Christmas bus, there are Noel Leeming, St Pierres, Bedpost, Starbucks, 2Degrees and SkyCity branded joy ride buses. Each bus will feature a wrapping paper design for the brand, with the gift bow look retained.
At present, the following buses have these wraps: NB5043 Auckland Transport, NB5303 St Pierres and NB5308 in Starbucks.
EastByWest ferries have moved onto their summer timetable from November 16.
Auckland Transport are installing new live departure signage on the Henderson Station access bridge to show live departures for trains and buses. A large black bracket has been installed at the top of the Railside Avenue escalators, with TVs being attached overnight on Tuesday.
Auckland Transport has published a list of bus timetables and route changes that are due to occur on November 29 & 30th.
Route 12 will see services every 15 minutes, every day from 7 am - 7 pm and adjustments to evening services to align with trains at Henderson.
Routes 801, 814, 985, 986, 988 and 995 will be adjusted to improve connections between buses and ferries.
Routes WX1, 11T, 11W, 18, 105, 106, 195 and 209 will no longer travel in or out of the city using Queen, Hobson or Wyndham Street.
The Terramotive team have recently delivered a new Yutong D7 to Waiheke Island for Fullers360.
Australian media has reported Morgan Stanley intends to sell StraitNZ, the company which owns Bluebridge, the Cook Strait ferry operator.
Busit Waikato will change over to their Holiday Timetable from December 25 until January 4. Special Holiday Timetables will be available from the Busit Desk at Hamilton Transport Centre from late November.
Ahead of Albert Street reopening to buses on the 29th of November, City Rail Link has shared a drone flyover of the area around Te Waihorotui Station.
Ferry Holdings has released a number of renders of the new Cook Strait Ferries that will replace the existing Interislander fleet. Ferry Holdings also released maps showing the upgrades and new infrastructure that will be constructed to support the ferries.
These details come as Rail Minister Winston Peters announced ‘The Government has saved the taxpayer billions with two new Interislander ferries from Guangzhou Shipyard International and no-nonsense infrastructure in Picton and Wellington’
The Blenheim Riverside Railway – the longest two-foot gauge railway in New Zealand – will mark its 40th anniversary trip on Saturday, 29 November with a cavalcade of narrow-gauge railway engines and carriages making a return trip from Brayshaw Park to Beaver Station in central Blenheim.
KiwiRail has launched a carbon calculator to meet increasing demand from customers wanting to compare carbon emissions from rail, road and air.
Two gondola projects pursuing different consent processes and using distinct technologies are vying to set up in Queenstown. The proposed gondola projects come from companies Whoosh and Southern Infrastructure Ltd.
Locomotive Josephine, which is housed at the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, has had its 1925 pinstripes reinstated. The stripes were repainted by Portobello sign writer Shem Sutherland.
MOTAT have fitted a mo to their Melbourne tram (No 906) this month to support Movember.
Auckland Transport has announced details of a number of improvements to the 152, 154, 171, 172 and 191 bus routes.
Route 15 replaces most of but 154 no longer runs on Solar, Pisces or Sunvue Road.
Route 17 replaces 172.
Route 152 runs more often and along Pisces, Solar, Sunvue Roads and no longer runs on part of Glengarry Road.
Route 171 runs more often at peak times and weekends.
Route 191 now runs on Wairau Avenue.
Dunedin Railways have had to adjust their Twilight Trains departure to leave at 6 pm due to a schedule change from KiwiRail. Passengers who stop at the Arc Brewery will arrive at 6.50 pm and will return on the train at 8.20 pm.
The new park and ride at Petone Station is to be chip-sealed on Friday with line marking, sign installation and stormwater works to start the following week. The car park will be available from December until 2031 to support the Melling station closure.
More than 60 pieces of art from local school students now take pride of place on a new mural at Homai Station. The mural stretches alongside the new accessible ramp leading from Browns Road to the station platform.
An engineer’s report on the damage to the Tinwald Viaduct after a crash in June says another impact would heighten the risk of the bridge collapsing.
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