Weekly Review No.119
Inside this edition: Taranaki Public Transport unveils new look, Govt proposes new giveaway rule for buses and Melling station hits the road to a temporary home.
Kia ora and welcome to the Weekly Review. NZ Transit Buzz is your transit news hub in 2026. We are on X, BlueSky and Instagram @NZTransitBuzz. Give us a follow wherever you are.
Bluebridge ferries have recommitted to Picton for the next four decades as parent company StraitNZ signs a long-term partnership with Port Marlborough.
Whanganui Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay has shared some extra details ahead of the new bus network launching in Whanganui on April 17.
The service is provided by Horizons Regional Council via a targeted rate and will cost $1.9M per annum.
In 2022, total passenger trips per annum were 93,245.
In 2023 (the year The Tide launched), annual passenger trips increased to 163,464.
In 2025, annual passenger trips increased again to 193,940.
Building 11 Central Park in Ellerslie, which houses KiwiRail’s Auckland operations hub, has earned the Macrennie Commercial Construction award at the 2025 Master Builders Commercial Project Awards.
The building is designed to remain fully operational in extreme conditions with fire separation and service redundancy throughout.
The Future Is Rail says the Te Huia Extension is a win for the Golden Triangle Rail and Momentum Builds for future growth.
Hutt City Councillor Brady Dyer shared a photo of the Melling Station building on the back of a truck, ahead of its relocation a few hundred metres south of its current location to a temporary storage location. Eventually, the building will be lined up with Margaret Street & the new City Link Bridge.
A large fire at Marton’s railway station building has prompted KiwiRail’s decision to demolish the building. The 61-year-old building was significantly damaged by a fire on January 4 - the second in its history.
The Regional Council voted on Thursday to hike Metlink’s base fare by 3.1% and cut the off-peak discount from 30% to 20%, but the changes will start only after contactless payments using debit and credit cards are activated on the Snapper system. Both dates are yet to be confirmed.
Works are underway on Queens Wharf to install the infrastructure required to charge electric & hybrid ferries. Currently, crews are preparing the concrete base for the charger building and pulling wires to the piers. The project is due for completion in Mid 2027.
The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum’s new president Jakob Gillespie, has taken on his first locomotive restoration project. He is leading the project to get a Tr38 diesel locomotion back in working order.
By Darren Davis via Adventures in Transitland: Total Mobility is Aotearoa’s subsidised taxi scheme for people with disabilities. But its name is an oxymoron and proposed changes will only make this worse.
Mainland Rail has had its fourth carriage come online, which has increased operating capacity to 204 seats. The carriages are known as the S class and previously served the Capital Connection.
Youth cop Senior Sergeant Nick Adcock says Christchurch’s Bus Interchange is safe, despite some isolated incidents.
The Transport Rebuild East Coast alliance and KiwiRail crews have powered through final repairs south of Napier on the Palmerston North–Gisborne line. Crews completed temporary repairs and reopened the rail bridge in early 2023. During the recent track closure window, crews removed one of the old piers and installed a new span.
Works to be completed include:
Corrosion protection – abrasive blasting and repainting the central steel piers and beam to extend the life of the temporary parts of the bridge. This is complete.
Structural repairs – replacing spans and removing the piers that are no longer needed. This opens up more space for the Tūtaekurī River to flow to the ocean.
River berm restoration – clearing silt, removing gravel laydown areas, and renewing wetland planting.
Pensioners can continue presenting their SuperGold card to ride on Environment Canterbury buses for now - but change is coming. Later this year, all SuperGold cardholders will need to link their SuperGold concession to their contactless card or device or a prepaid Motu Move card.
The fate of Auckland’s waterfront tram is under threat as Auckland Council moves to open up Wynyard Quarter for high-rise redevelopment, sparking a bitter dispute between passionate drivers and city officials.
Northland Regional Council has advised that the Hikurangi Link bus service now accepts SuperGold cards.
The Hikurangi Link runs from Whangārei to Hikurangi, via Te Kamo, and back every Tuesday and Thursday. The morning service departs Whangārei Rose Street bus hub at 9.15 am, calling at Te Kamo and Hikurangi before returning to Rose Street at 10.25 am. The afternoon service departs Rose Street at 1.30 pm.
Locals say tourist campervans will continue to collide with a low-clearance rail bridge in Canterbury — despite signage and a growing reputation for the strikes.
Taranaki Public Transport have annouced that from April 7, new routes and timetables will begin in Taranaki as part of the new network Te Pahi Taranaki.
Changes include:
A streamlined urban New Plymouth network
Improved Base Hospital access
Highlands Park and Merrilands are now serviced
New Saturday services: a New Plymouth city orbiter running clockwise and anticlockwise, a Waitara–Bell Block service and a Hāwera–New Plymouth service.
Fleet upgrade to electric buses
New bus stops in Omata
New Waitara morning commuter and school loop
A fare zone change for South Taranaki users
Removal of under-utilised 7 am trips servicing Lynmouth, Vogeltown, Fitzroy/Glen Avon and Westown
All Monday to Wednesday trips at 6.20 pm will be removed. On Thursdays and Fridays, the 6.20 pm service will no longer operate as drop-off only. Instead, all 6.20 pm departures will run as full trips, servicing all scheduled stops through to Ariki Street, enabling passengers to travel into the CBD.
Ōpunake–New Plymouth midday trips reduced from five days to two days a week.
The Hāwera-Waverley route becomes Hāwera-Pātea and moves from two days per week to one day a week.
Kaponga is no longer serviced due to very low passenger numbers
Some regions could be left without rail access as the focus goes on investment in electrifying and upgrading within the so-called Golden Triangle of Hamilton, Tauranga and Auckland.
After January’s heavy rains left sections of the Hauraki Rail Trail severely damaged and access to the Victoria Battery Site difficult, the historic location is now facing another setback – a brazen theft.
Te Awa Kairangi shared a photo showing Melling Station on the move to its temporary home. NZ Transit Buzz understands the building will be stored in a nearby yard in the interim. The station will then be incorporated into the future Melling Station complex.
Over the next few months, staff will:
Start training and get to know their future workplaces
Check walk times
Learn key equipment locations
Confirm maps and signage
Check the accuracy of public information
Take part in trial operations and scenario trainings
Canterbury Regional Council Chair Deon Swiggs shared a video showcasing Metro Canterbury’s new electric double-decker bus driving down Manchester Street.
An event to officially launch Christchurch’s new electric double-decker bus was held on Monday, as the bus has completed trials and will be on route 7 in the coming weeks.
An Auckland councillor is pushing for a long-term police presence at Auckland’s City Rail Link once it opens later this year – but there is some resistance from police, who say such an operation wouldn’t be sustainable.
Work on the new Westgate Bus Station is progressing well, with all the kerbs having been cast and the main station structures framework assembled. The footpath outside the station is also being rebuilt to better connect to the new station.
There won’t be a central Christchurch train platform built in time for the city’s new stadium opening, but the company behind an Events Express train has a solution. Passengers will disembark onto Pilgrim Place, using a ramp similar to those used on planes.
Companies sending goods up and down the country’s railways could begin to favour road transport as KiwiRail manages declining assets, an expert says.
Wellington City Council issued $17.6 million in infringement notices in 2025 of which $5.8m was for unauthorised drivers in bus lanes, according to data released by the council on Fyi.org.nz.
The AT Local on-demand service is being replaced on 19 April 2026 by the new 364 fixed route bus service.
The 364 will run every 30 minutes, 7 days a week from 5:30 am to 11 pm, Monday to Friday and 6:00 am to 11 pm, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.
The 365 will have a small route change when the 364 launches. The 365 will operate via Porchester Road and Airfield Road instead of Kauri Heart Avenue.
The Melling Station building in Lower Hutt has been moved 500m away on the back of a truck. Workers relocated the 19m long, 25-tonne train station building to a temporary home at nearby Marsden St on Monday.
Spedding Industrial have shared extra photos of the TranzUrban Westgate depot. The photos showcase the progress on the construction of a large shed for Tranzit’s office and operations at the North-West depot.
Auckland Transport has completed a project to install new LED lighting at the Morningside Station level crossing. Previously, the lighting for this crossing was provided by other nearby street lighting.
New electric buses for New Plymouth’s new bus network have arrived in Auckland for pre-service preparation works before being driven down to enter service. NZ Transit Buzz understands these buses are the CRRC eS11 max.
Wellington mayor Andrew Little, who has been in a car pinged on the city’s high-earning Cambridge Terrace bus lane, has signalled changes to bus lane hours and signs.
NZTA have opened consultation on requiring drivers travelling under 60 kilometres per hour to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops. This is part of a wider proposed change, which NZTA says will improve the safe and efficient use of lanes and better align the rules with how people already travel.
The area around the new Karanga-a-Hape Station has been reshaped to make it easier, safer and more welcoming for people moving through the area, completing another important step towards opening the City Rail Link later this year.
Artist Lucia has painted a rail concrete stop box beside Tāmaki Drive in Auckland. The mural is an ocean-themed artwork featuring a turtle, octopus, jellyfish, manta ray, seahorses, and a starfish.
Waikato Regional Council has voted to continue the Waikato-Auckland Te Huia passenger train trial. The decision was made in an 11-2 vote, with one abstention. A full engagement on the future of Te Huia will occur as part of the Waikato Regional Council’s 2027-2037 Long Term Plan process.
Auckland Transport’s AM144, which has been in the Wellington paint workshops since late last year, has emerged sporting AT’s Shore Blue livery. The Shore Blue livery also features AT’s Tangaroa elements.
KiwiRail’s mural beautification initiative has expanded with another mural being completed at Wiri Junction by artists Mike Tupaea and Bryce Williams. Pāora Puru provided the cultural design narrative.
Te Haaro o Te Kaahu (The Soar of the Hawk) acknowledges the cultural and natural landscape of Wiri and Manukau. At its heart is the kaahu (hawk), a kaitiaki (guardian) of the whenua whose flight reminds us to stay vigilant and mindful on our journeys.
An InterCity bus driver with five decades behind the wheel says Tokoroa’s new public toilet block is welcome but insufficient for the hundreds of passengers stopping in the town each day.
Te Pahi Taranaki (formerly Taranaki Public Transport) has shared a video showing their new bus livery. The new livery is lime and white and features the new Te Pahi Taranaki logo mark on the front half of the bus and the full Te Pahi Taranaki logo on the rear window.
The new livery will be applied to new buses entering service for the new network when it kicks off on April 7.
Waikato Regional Council has included $550,000 in their draft budget for 2026/27 for a business case to investigate options for replacing rolling stock for Te Huia. Further options for the rolling stock business case will be considered at an upcoming council meeting, prior to the budget being finalised.
Councillors were also keen to increase Te Huia fare revenue for the remainder of the trial. A report on fare pricing is due to be presented to the council before the final budget is approved.
In reply to an OIA request, KiwiRail has confirmed that investigations are being undertaken to determine if DL locomotives can operate Te Huia at 100km/h instead of the present 80km/h limit. KiwiRail says the comparison between a 100/80km/h is negligible and the impact on the timetable would be deemed minimal (around a few minutes in total transit time).
Te Huia must be hauled by an ETCS-fitted locomotive by August 2026 in order to access the Auckland Metro Network, and KiwiRail has begun retrofitting ETCS to a number of its DL locomotives for use within the Auckland Network.
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