Weekly Review No.79
This week, rail network works continue in Auckland, A Christchurch tram goes in for maintenance, and Christchurch’s Route 7 gets a frequency boost.
Welcome to the Weekly Review. It has been a very short week with public holidays bookending the week, but the transport news has kept flowing.
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On Good Friday, we kicked off our April School Holiday rail network shutdown works thread on X and BlueSky, right here on Substack we gathered a bunch of extra images from our rail tour, so check it out below.
GALLERY: April school holidays rail network shutdown works progress
Welcome to the April School Holiday rail network shutdown works thread. On the 18th of April, NZ Transit Buzz travelled around the Auckland rail network to see what work KiwiRail and Auckland Transport have been up to during the extended rail network closure.
A fatal derailment could have occurred if thieves had succeeded in stealing railway sleepers from active track at Auckland's Glenbrook Vintage Railway, according to the trust chairperson.
Disabled students in Wellington say their autonomy and dignity is being taken away due to a lack of disability awareness on public transport.
A public transport expert believes Queenstown’s chronic traffic congestion — in Frankton Rd, in particular — can be solved by a modern electric tram carrying up to 200 passengers.
An engine fire broke out on a Fullers ferry on its way to Waiheke Island on Sunday evening. NZ Transit Buzz understands the ferry was Fullers Takahe, according to the Marine Traffic website.
The toot toot from the whistle of Steam train WA165 punctuated the air over Gisborne city several times at the weekend as more than 300 people went for ride to Muriwai and back.
Two years ago, the Huntly Volunteer Fire Brigade saved the Huntly Railway station building from arson. Recently, the fire brigade assisted the Huntly Museum (now located in the station building) with a building wash.
Diverting construction waste in Dunedin and sending much of it north by rail for reprocessing could be trialled by the Dunedin City Council from November.
Titan Contracting Group shared photos from several of the construction sites they are working on during the April School Holidays rail network closure. At Te Mahia & Takanini, crews have begun reinstating the tracks through the worksites.
The Government is weighing up how to fund a permanent rescue tugboat for the Cook Strait, and a user pays system is on the table.
Due to KiwiRail works on the Upper Hutt Yard near the Upper Hutt Park & Ride, 97 carparks will close for 10 weeks beginning 28th of April. Metlink advises using the park & ride at either Wallaceville or Trentham. Pedestrian access at Park St will remain open.
Prior to Cyclone Tam arriving over the Easter long weekend, Ngā Mahi Rail provided track protection for a tree-felling crew working alongside the rail line in the Kaingaroa Forest between Murapara and Kawerau.
Interislander Aratere ferry sailings were cancelled on Tuesday due to an electrical fault. The 4 pm crossing from Wellington to Picton and its return journey scheduled for 8.50 pm, were cancelled to give engineers time to fix the fault in a hydraulic pump.
Christchurch Tramway's Tram 244 is returning to Ferrymead for scheduled maintenance over the winter season.
Maintenance includes:
Driver’s cabs TLC
Relaying the floor
New paint job
Fares on goBay bus services will rise by an average of five percent from Sunday, 4 May 2025. For simplicity, the new fares will be rounded to the nearest 10 cents.
Due to debris on the tracks & sleepers that need resettling, Rotorua Rail Cruising has had to temporarily close while they work to clear and repair the tracks.
Ngā Mahi Rail has shared photos of their crews in action on the North Island Main Trunk Line. Crews were using their digger-mounted tamping head to adjust the ballast following KiwiRail's Track Evaluation Car EM80 passing through the area.
The NZ Transport Agency Board has endorsed the Northwest Rapid Transit investment case.
From 24th April, the Stanley Street Bus Hub in Queenstown will be in use. The stops at the Holiday Inn, Blue Peaks, & the Stanley Street Bus Hubs – A, B & C – will be open, & buses will no longer travel along Queenstown Arterial Road.
Island Direct ferry services will pause from 12–16 May due to scheduled maintenance. Regular service will resume from 17 May.
Starting on 28 April, Route 7 Halswell/Queenspark will run every 10 minutes from 5.30 am to 6.30 pm on weekdays and every 15 minutes outside of those hours.
Due to the Faultline Ultra on 27 April, some Wellington Cable Car services may be busier than usual. Uphill services between 8 am and 10 am are likely to be busier than normal.
Waikato Regional Council is taking over public transport rates collection for the whole region, and is open for feedback on a proposed model that will see some Hamilton city residents’ transport rates nearly double, while others could halve.
Thursday saw the final day of operation for the 132 bus route. The route removal will be supported by the introduction of double-decker buses on the WX1 route and additional route 13 trips from 27 April to support former users of the 132.