Weekly Review No.96
Inside this edition of the Weekly Review: Metro announces Rolleston bus improvements trial, Steam Incorporated sets up the 'Southern contingent' and a new bus ready for Christchurch?
Kia Ora and welcome to the Weekly Review for another week, we have you covered with the latest in transport news from around the country.
Two Hawke’s Bay restaurant owners have combined forces to take the handbrake off Napier’s hospitality scene, though hopefully not too literally. Food Buzz is a bright red double-decker bus renovated for customer dining, with food trucks surrounding it.
KiwiRail has reached a $144 million settlement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, taking the final cost of the cancelled Interislander replacement project to $671m.
Off-peak services on all lines in Wellington were replaced by buses on 19 August, between 9 am and 3 pm, due to the annual general meeting of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union.
Auckland Transport said it is investigating the cause of a diesel bus catching fire outside its depot in Birkenhead on Friday morning.
From 1 September, Metro and Bentley Coachlines services will begin a six-month trial operating buses along two new routes, 84 Rolleston Direct West & 85 Rolleston Direct East.
The new services will boost the number of direct buses travelling between Rolleston and the city from 4 to 16 in each direction on weekdays. At the Rolleston end, trips will alternate between covering the East and West sides of the town on a "hail and ride" basis.
More information, including the combined timetable, will be available on metro.co.nz next week.
The contract for new trains running on long-distance commuter routes between Wellington, Manawatū and Wairarapa is set to be announced this month or September.
The public will get another chance to have a say on the expanded bus network proposed for Whanganui.
Blake Forbes dreams of taking the ferry from Wellington to Eastbourne. But the 26-year-old wheelchair user can’t — steep ramps and high steps make the service unsafe.
Wellington Cable Car is undertaking geotechnical investigations near Salamanca Station to determine the best way to strengthen the bridges to current-day earthquake resilience. The drill is on-site for 2 more weeks & will also drill at Rawhiti Terrace.
With the retirement of the Aratere, Steam Incorporated made the decision to create a 'Southern contingent' to allow the group to run heritage rail events in both islands while the rail connection is severed.
Repair work is due to begin beside the rail lines south of the Purewa rail tunnel on Auckland's Eastern Line due to slips alongside the track. Repair works are expected to take about 8 weeks with stop/go controls in place on the nearby shared path.
Aucklanders could soon see 15-storey apartment towers sprouting up around train stations, under a new council plan that also clamps down on building in flood-prone suburbs.
KeaStudios, the designer behind the LED Auckland Live Train Map has begun work on a Wellington Live Train Map. KeaStudios is currently seeking feedback on Reddit around the draft model.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is spending $64 million on a new, largely uncovered bus depot that will soon draw more power than all the homes in three neighbouring suburbs.
KiwiRail has shared a drone flyover of the construction progress being made at our Paerātā Station. NZTA are constructing a roundabout on SH22 to connect to the station and trackside wetlands and carpark are also under construction.
The Mercury Lane temporary access shaft has been backfilled. The shaft provided access to the bored tunnels while the Mercury Lane station building was constructed.
City Rail Link has prepared the tree pit at the rear of Beresford Square at Karanga-a-Hape Station for five mature rewarewa trees, which will be planted shortly.
The reported destination for Aratere on the Marine Traffic website currently reads "Can't say, secret". It has also shown other funny farewell messaging since arriving in Wellington. At the time of writing Aratere has the reported destination of ‘For Sale’.
NZTA has begun installing the new overbridge at the Ngauranga end of Te Ara Tupua. The overbridge will pass over the railway line to Hutt Road.
Bus detectors that trigger a red light will be installed on the busy Christchurch street, despite the mayor calling it "an absolute shambles".
A double-decker Geely electric bus in Metro Canterbury teal has been spotted near the Geely Factory. NZ Transit Buzz is unable to confirm when the bus will arrive in New Zealand, enter service, which routes it will run or how many have been ordered.
City Rail Link has confirmed that the new CRL stations will have priority seating and hearing loops on underground and platform levels.
The CRRC electric double-decker buses loaned to Howick and Eastern by Transurban have been returned and are now back in service out west. The EV DDs were swapped with diesel Enviro500 units while Transurban's Westgate depot is under construction.
City Rail Link has shared a new photo of the Victoria Street entrance to Te Waihorotiu Station. The photo showcases the view of the Skytower and station entrance as seen from the underground ‘ramp’ entrance.
KiwiRail are trialling how the new Western Power Feed site near Glen Eden integrates with the wider network. Colourworx also installed 136 artwork panels on the site’s structures across four days. The panels can be seen while travelling along the Western line.
Seen the ferry that looks a bit skew-whiff? Bluebridge’s strange tilt turns out to be a routine ballast shift.