Weekly Review No.81
This week, City Rail Link unveils artwork at Karanga-a-Hape Station, new crossing alarms installed at Weka Pass Railway, and Auckland’s old SA/SD Carriges get moved on from Taumarunui.
Welcome to the Weekly Review. We work hard to keep you informed of all the transport happenings around New Zealand. Seen something on your local public transport network? Snap a pic and email us at nztransitbuzz@gmail.com to get featured in the Weekly Review or on our social channels.
We are on X, Find us on BlueSky or Instagram. NZ Transit Buzz - your go-to hub for all things transport news!
Rail Minister Winston Peters and KiwiRail are offering assurances the Cook Strait ferry service won’t be compromised with the retirement of the Aratere but say it may mean night travel and some inconvenience.
City Rail Link shared photos of the artwork installed inside the Beresford Square entrance to Karanga-a-Hape Station.
The Tāhunanui train has arrived at its destination and passengers can now board! The Lions Club and tamariki from Tāhunanui School opened the new play train at the Tāhunanui Beach Reserve Playground.
Two carriages of the TranzAlpine scenic train separated by about one metre while pulling into Arthur’s Pass Station due to a broken coupler component, a Transport Accident Investigation Commission report has found.
A proposed “gamechanger” Sunday service for Te Huia would be part-funded by Auckland if Waikato Regional Council had its way.
In late January, a Whanganui forest management company switched to transporting its logs by rail, taking eight truck and trailer loads off the road to New Plymouth each day.
Via threesixtysix: The shittiness of bus replacements is undermining people's trust in using trains. Let’s explore bus replacements, the council's ideas on improvement, and how we could truly solve the situation.
Auckland Transport has released renders of the new pedestrian bridges at Glen Innes, Takaanini and Te Mahi. AT have also set up a Have Your Say page for each station with maps of the associated works.
Glen Innes: https://haveyoursay.at.govt.nz/glen-innes-pedx/
As we prepare to say goodbye to the Aratere later this year, here are a few of the times the ferry got into strife.
City Rail Link announced that construction is now largely complete at Te Waihorotiu Station, with the focus shifted to final fit-out. Gate lines, seating, and most wayfinding signage are installed, many still wrapped in protective coverings.
KiwiRail's new tampers 731 & 744 were transferred from Westfield to Palmerston North on Saturday, the tampers were hauled by DL 9319.
City Rail Link teamed up with Fire and Emergency New Zealand to test the tunnel hydrant systems at Maungawhau Station. Fire trucks were hooked up to the tunnel hydrant system, and water flowed down the East Link Down tunnel, to the Newton Junction drains and into the sump systems.
The majority of Wairarapa residents who had their say on the region’s public transport are unhappy with rail services, with comments including “subpar” and “extremely unreliable”.
At Frankton Station in Hamilton a bus and train departures board has been installed in the window of the station building.
Disgruntled train commuters have banded together against the Wairarapa Line, leading to a regional movement pushing for change.
A concerned school bus driver is terrified cars "screaming past at 100km an hour" on the way to Dunedin Airport will seriously hurt or kill a child if authorities continue to ignore the problem.
Platform number signs have been installed attached to a number of the real-time departure boards along Auckland’s Rail Network. The work appears to have been completed during the April school holidays network shutdown.
The engine from the Nelson Railway Society's Dsa Locomotive has been transported to Heslops for repair after the engine recently failed.
Interislander has temporarily paused all ship bookings for travel after 9 September 2025. The pause will remain in place until 19 May 2025, while Interislander finalises its new two-ship timetable.
Alstom has delivered its Iconis Traffic Management System, providing the first step for the digitalisation of the operation of New Zealand’s railway network. The Iconis TMS was activated on May 3 on the Pilot Wairarapa line.
The Canterbury Railway Society installed plastic sleepers while constructing a new Turnout on the Ferrymead Railway. Also, crews used a Hi-Rail Digger with a mower attachment to mow alongside the tracks.
The team at the Canterbury Railway Society are also rebuilding a Caterpillar Engine from a Dsa Locomotive.
The Weka Pass Railway installed and commissioned new crossing alarms on Glenmark Drive in Waipara township.The level crossing is used on regular running days, but also throughout the week and on Saturdays.
New Zealand bus operator InterCity will launch an electric sightseeing bus in Auckland and said longer-haul electric bus routes could be viable in the next year or so.
Work to commission the new railway level crossing and open the new road link over the railway line at Waterloo Road will start on Friday 16 May, with the opening expected by the end of the day on Thursday 22 May.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council transport committee report said Wairarapa rail complaints had more than trebled year on year for the month of March.
KiwiRail shared a time-lapse video of the Wellington Station A-Box demolition. A-Box was demolished over the Easter rail closure. A-Box was decommissioned late last year, with the manual switch and lever system put into storage for safekeeping.
New Photos of the area around Maungawhau Station have been shared by City Rail Link.
A lack of off-peak trains leading to four-hour waits to get a ride between Masterton and Wellington could force commuters to drive over Remutaka Hill Rd, a Greater Wellington Regional Council hearing heard on Tuesday.
At Mainline Steam Heritage Trust's Mercer yard, a dry summer has allowed for ground preparation work involving filling & raising the ground levels on the east and western sides of the site. A shed supplier had been chosen & work will start once consents are granted.
Following two fires & further vandalism of the former Auckland suburban carriages stored in the Taumarunui rail yard over the weekend, KiwiRail has hired a crane and heavy haulage vehicles to transport them to Wellington to be placed in storage.
We started Thursday with a guest post from Scott Pilkington: A real-life look at how car-centric public transport systems are, and the assumption that travel by car is a priority, and public transport is plan C.
Scott Pilkington: Trying to recover a forgotten phone without a car
This is a guest post from Scott Pilkington it originally appeared as a BlueSky thread and has been added to by Scott and republished here with permission.Thanks for reading NZ Transit Buzz! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry is welcoming confirmation the Government will co-fund the replacement of Ava Rail pedestrian footbridge, saying it’s “a great win for our community.”
Construction would begin on the three new overbridges at Glen Innes, Takanini and Te Mahia stations in October and continue through the summer rail shutdown in December, according to Auckland Transport.
The tourism division of KiwiRail, Great Journeys New Zealand, is “exceeding sales expectations” with its premium tours, regional rail packages and new Scenic Plus premium dining experiences.
Auckland Transport shared a few photos from the Eastern Busway project. New traffic lanes and a shared path are now open on Tī Rākau Drive, piling has begun for Tī Rākau Bridge & the final beams of Rā Hihi were lifted into place during the first week in May.
KiwiRail & contractor John Holland are using low-carbon concrete at Drury & Paerātā Railway Stations. Construction crews are also using a polymer piling method, eliminating the need for steel casings on most piles.
New EMU 3 & 6 Car Stop signs have been installed at the eastern end of the Waitematā Station tunnel on platforms 1 and 4. The new signs indicated where services exiting the CRL tunnels need to stop.
Interesting location for the EMU 3+6 stop signs! When a 3-car train arrives at Waitematā, passengers are going to have to run down to the far end.
This also is a problem at a number of other stations - Orākei eastbound and Parnell southbound come to mind, as well as numerous others. Instead of 3-car trains stopping adjacent to the station shelter, they proceed down to the end of the platform. Truly bizarre in heavy rain.