Weekly Review No.110
Inside this edition: AT undertakes more City Rail Link high-frequency testing, Whanganui Tramways welcomes new drivers and changes announced for Nelson eBus routes.
Welcome to the Weekly Review from wherever in the world you might be reading this from. You can stay updated on Twitter/X, Bluesky or Instagram with the latest transit news as it happens.
Metlink has installed wheel stoppers to keep paths clear at Takapu Road Station. Works are also underway at Paremata Station to repair a retaining wall and add two extra parking spaces. Mana Station received new fencing and safer walkways.
Masterton’s miniature railway holds a special place in the hearts of many and a $25,000 boost from Mitre 10 aims to have the trains chugging for another 50 years.
Over the 22 & 23rd of November, City Rail Link completed further high-frequency testing through the CRL tunnels. During this testing, train managers were on board to simulate the opening and closing of doors during standard operations once CRL opens.
The case for privately-run passenger rail in Greater Christchurch for major events appears to be stacking up, with private investors, the city council and KiwiRail keenly involved.
An on-demand public transport service in Hastings is to end after failing to hit targets. The review found that 40% of the kilometres the vans had travelled up to 2024 had been while they were empty.
By Matt Lowrie at Greater Auckland: We’re rapidly approaching the end of the year and it’s been a while since we last looked at what was happened with public transport ridership so it’s time to take a look again.
New turnouts have been installed at Henderson Station in the future track layout position for the station’s new bay platform. Platform edging and new overhead masts have been installed into position also.
Auckland Transport shared photos of the pedestrian bridge construction at Takaanini and Te Mahia stations. At Takaanini, crews have installed temporary sheet piles and adjusted the Footpaths on Maru Road, while at Te Mahia, teams started piling in the central platform.
A gondola system designed to overcome Queenstown’s road congestion could have two lines — connecting the town centre to both the airport and the Ladies Mile.
Examiners from Wellington Tramways Museum recently travelled to Whanganui Tramways to assess the qualifications of the group’s latest intake of tram drivers. Whanganui Tramways welcomed a total of four new volunteers to the tramline operation.
Auckland Transport shared a timelapse video captured inside Waitematā Station showing the high-frequency timetable testing completed over the weekend. AT also mentioned that in 2026, they will be conducting timetable testing network-wide.
Ambitious plans to re-establish the Mornington cable car line have been greeted with interest by a national organisation. The Dunedin Heritage Light Rail Trust has a long-term vision for a revived Mornington cable car that would not only be a major tourist attraction but also provide a public transport option for local residents.
KiwiRail has indicated in their freight rail update to clients that the 2025/26 Christmas block of line in Auckland ‘signals the end of the planned major blocks in preparation for CRL’.
There are timetable changes for routes 1-7 of Nelson’s eBus service effective December 1.
R1 sees an additional inbound service: 6.22 am from Berryfield to Nelson
R1 will also see arrival times change by 4–11 minutes, depending on your stop
R4 will see bus arrivals to all stops changed to 5 minutes later than they are currently
R5 & R6 will see Motueka and Wakefield buses stop at Nelson College for Girls andSalisbury Road near Champion Road and opposite Holdaway Grove
R7 will now follow the R1 route and will stop at all required stops
Auckland Transport and City Rail Link shared photos and video of TR3877 on Albert Street with a group of CRL workers onboard to celebrate and break the ribbon to reopen Albert Street following major works to construct the CRL tunnels and Te Waihorotiu Station.
Buses officially return to Albert Street from November 29.
KiwiRail has assisted Mainline Steam in relocating Ja1275 from storage at Glenbrook Vintage Railway to Mainline Steam’s Mercer yard. Ja1275 is the first piece of Mainline Steam equipment to cross the newly installed connection to the national rail network.
Michael Tolich captured a number of photos from the move and shared them on their Flickr.
KiwRail told Railvolution that the “new Stadler shunters are progressing through the detailed design verification and validation process.”
The Canterbury Railway Society track team have been busy with Storage Sidings Road 2, replacing turnout frogs and installing new signal track protection rodding.
The new departure boards in the Henderson Station concourse are now live. The left display shows train departures, with the right showing bus departures.
Passengers aboard the Kingston Flyer were robbed at gunpoint when their train was stopped in Fairlight, in Southland. The bandits were imitating the popular 1975 Cadbury television commercial, the Great Crunchie Train Robbery.
Auckland Transport shared a by-the-numbers breakdown of last weekend’s high-frequency CRL testing.
2722km travelled by test trains
588 hours spent testing
36 drivers involved
264 coffees delivered to train crew, controllers, timekeepers, and support staff
 | A guest post by
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Lol, number of coffees delivered a sign of the times . (not a criticism).