Weekly Review No.65
This week: KiwiRail announces new tampers home base locations, Summer rail upgrades continue in Auckland and wrap in Wellington and an update on the bus bike rack ban.
Welcome to the Weekly Review for the first time in 2025, we hope you have had a nice break, the news happening over the holidays and we kept an eye out for you and compiled it into a handy article for you to peruse.
News you might have missed over the summer break
While the Weekly Review wrapped up for 2024 on the Friday before Christmas, we were working right up to Christmas Eve and beyond scrounging for the transport news you may have missed over the break!
This week we have been working hard to find all the transport news we can to keep you up to date, so let's get into the transport news from the week that was!
KiwiRail has said their two new tampers will be operational from April, with one based in Auckland and the other in Christchurch, two more units are on order and will be delivered by the end of 2025.
A new poll has found close to half of New Zealanders want the new Interislander ferries to be rail-enabled.
As more Aucklanders return to work, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail are reminding train users that additional bus services are running while the rail network remains closed this month for critical upgrades.
Metlink reminded passengers on the Hutt Valley, Johnsonville, Kฤpiti, and Melling line on Monday there may be delays as staff get the hang of the computer-based signalling system that was installed at Wellington Station over the Christmas break.
We started off the new year with a look at the good and the bad of Christchurchโs bus network, we noted that while clean buses and electric vehicles stand out, issues with route frequency and maintenance need attention.
Christchurchโs buses: The good and the bad
During a recent trip to Christchurch, I got to experience the cityโs public transport network as a commuter rather than a tourist, as I was working out of the Christchurch office and staying in Darfield. Below are some of the highlights (the good and bad) of Metro Canterbury services, and a few areas for improvement.
South of Henderson Station three new crossovers have been constructed to support the future 3 platform layout at Henderson, north of the station a section of track has been replaced.
Auckland Transportโs chief executive says there has been a 10 per cent uptake of contactless payments on public transport.
In 2003, Britomart train station in downtown Auckland opened, it nonetheless led the transformation of the whole run down Auckland waterfront area, Patrick Reynolds on Greater Auckland argues there is a similar opportunity hiding in plain sight in Hamilton.
Work is about to start on a new bus stop facility in the Tauranga city centre, contractors expect to start preparatory work next week, with the main works to start from Monday, January 20.
Rail replacement buses in Auckland were packed on Monday morning as many in the city returned to work at the same time as a network-wide shutdown.
During the summer rail shutdown, work has continued on KiwiRailโs Western Powerfeed crews installed a new overhead support mast to support a new isolation zone and continued to build walls around the equipment on site.
KiwiRail has shared a video of their crews replacing two crossover replacements at the Tamaki yard in Panmure during the extended network closure in Auckland.
Horizons Regional Council are making changes to the Palmerston North bus network to expand coverage, improve driver conditions and create more reliable timings.
MOTAT's workshop team recently changed out the motor on Tram 906 and shared a video of the process.
As Aucklandโs City Rail Link rolls toward completion, LDRโs Mary Afemata explores how the $5.5 billion dollar project has worked with and benefited from, generations of Pasifika talent.
Extended month-long rail closures will not be required in Auckland once the city's rail networks have been modernised, says KiwiRail's chief infrastructure officer.
The Oamaru Steam and Rail workshop will be closed to the public on Wednesday, the 15th, and will reopen on Saturday, the 18th due to the filming of the Netflix series East of Eden.
AT HOP ticketing gates have been installed at the Victoria Street entrance to Te Waihorotiu Station, Te Waihorotiu Station will have 26 gates with 60 new gates installed across the project.
X/Twitter user @YT_JoshRBX has shared a few photos of the Wellesley Street Bus Improvements project.
KiwiRail is putting the finishing touches on its summer rail upgrades, which means Wellington rail services (excluding the Wairarapa Line) are back up and running.
By the numbers
Up to 180 workers on site per shift at Wellington Station
Over 20,000 hours of labour
Used more than 1800m3 of formation
6 x turnouts installed
Installed more than 400m of new rail track
Installed 200m of overhead line wiring
Ngฤ Mihi Rail has shared a progress update photo of the track reinstatement work on the North Island Main Trunk Line near Papatoetoe.
Artistic glass panels have been removed from the bus shelter on the corner of Rangiora St and Karaka St in Castlecliff after repeated vandalism.
From 1 PM - 6 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the Bayswater, Birkenhead, West Harbour and Hobsonville Point Ferries will not operate due to the Sail GP ferry exclusion zone, scheduled buses will provide ferry replacement services.
After 89 years the manual signal box in Wellington, which controls train movement on the tracks, is gone, and has been replaced by a computerised system already adopted by the rest of the country.
The Great Journeys New Zealand Manuhiri Scenic Plus carriage began service on the Northern Explorer on Wednesday morning, the Northern Explorer is currently terminating at Hamilton Station due to major track works in Auckland.
A Christchurch man whoโs tired of buses idling in a layover zone in front of his house has now raised safety concerns after a confrontation with a driver.
Passengers from the Royal Princess cruise ship queue in George St, Port Chalmers, for the No 14 public bus into central Dunedin after being faced with an eye-watering charge of about $56 to use the provided shuttles.
City Rail Link has reconstructed the archway in the heritage bluestone wall on Albert Street, once the wall is fully rebuilt, the cast iron screens formerly in the bathroom will be restored and visible to passersby.
As discovered by ifuckinghatethe394 on the Scoot Foundation Discord, when trains return to Pukekohe Station in February the current timetable shows an expected journey time of 20 minutes between Pukekohe & Papakura.
Auckland Transport has confirmed to NZ Transit Buzz that the route timing is 'almost the same as the previous time including the interchange at Papakura'.
KiwiRail has shared a few photos of the works they completed at Wellington Station during the 18-day network closure to complete upgrades and maintenance at 17 different sites across the region.
Auckland Transportโs online journey planner appears to have been compromised, with a rude phrase appearing in the search engine of the website.
Nelson Sustainable Transport Strategy Group (Nelsust) is sending its eco-friendly message around the region with a playful advertising campaign aimed at getting car drivers onto public transport.
Wellington council has approved plans by CentrePort to use two containers stationed outside the heritage-listed Old Government Buildings on Lambton Quay as temporary bus shelters for passengers waiting for shuttles.
A national working group is nearing agreement on solutions for buses with bike racks and is forming a pathway for exemptions from vehicle lighting rules, the working group are also seeking a temporary exemption to allow daytime use of the racks.
The investment made into Waikato public transport is bearing fruit with the numbers of people catching the bus last year from regional towns to and from Hamilton well up on 2023.
A passenger on a rail replacement bus had to get off and direct traffic so the bus could navigate through closed barrier arms at a level crossing in West Auckland - despite no [passenger] trains currently running on Aucklandโs rail network.
KiwiRail has shared photos and a video of the recently rebuilt Metcalfe Road level crossing in Ranui, Auckland, the crossing rebuild was necessary due to the end-of-life condition of both the road and rail at this level crossing.
That Metcalfe Road level crossing and intersection is a real mess. Thankfully I cycle through it more than drive, so easier, but the complexity of the roads + level crossing makes navigation and traffic build up troublesome. Can only wonder what happens with the CRL completion and increased train frequency. Same for all the level crossings, most on busy feeder roads, along the western line.