Month: May 2023

Christchurch to finally get Rapid Transit?

Matt L | May 15, 2023 | Rapid Transit & Rail
Plans for light rail are way off the rails in Auckland and on the ropes in Wellington, could Christchurch get it right and deliver New Zealand’s first modern light rail line? Last week a committee of the Greater Christchurch Partnership, a voluntary coalition of local government, mana whenua and government agencies, were asked to endorse the Greater Christchurch Public Transport Futures Mass Rapid Transit Indicative Business Case.…
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Weekly Roundup 12-May-2023

Greater Auckland | May 12, 2023 | Weekly Roundup
Welcome to Friday, it’s been a crazy week of weather in Auckland and we’re certainly looking forward to what is meant to be a more settled weekend. Here’s our latest roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. The Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt asked if it is finally time to reform Kiwirail On Wednesday Matt looked at the impacts on public transport of the latest storm induced chaos Yesterday a guest post shone a light on intercity rail in the Upper North Island A continued focus on Kiwirail Kiwirail’s failures have continued to be in the news this week, including this good piece from Radio NZ’s The Detail looking at how things have gotten so bad.…
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Auckland Rain Déjà Vu

Matt L | May 10, 2023 | Streets & Roads
It was very much a case of déjà vu all over again yesterday, as Auckland received yet another round of torrential rain, resulting in flooding and significant disruption. Some parts of West Auckland received over 100mm of rain, mostly within just a few hours.…
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Penlink to be Tolled

Matt L | May 3, 2023 | Streets & Roads
On Monday the government announced Penlink would be tolled. This was far from certain given the government shied away from also tolling Puhoi to Warkworth and Transmission Gully and that Waka Kotahi consulted on this well over a year ago. Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced the decision to toll O Mahurangi Penlink to futureproof the vital connection in Auckland’s transport network.…
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Auckland’s Future Transport Projects Consultation

Matt L | May 2, 2023 | Politics & Governance
Mayor Wayne Brown has regularly called for “a joined-up, comprehensive transport plan, written by Aucklanders“. Earlier this year it was covered in a council agenda item and titled the Auckland Integrated Transport Plan. The Minister of Transport and the Mayor have agreed on the need for a broader plan to futureproof Auckland with a high-quality, joined-up transport system, which more closely integrates decision-making on cars, buses, trains, ferries, cyclists, pedestrians, freight and passenger rail and light rail.…
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Wellington rail in the news: on track, and off

Matt L | May 1, 2023 | Rapid Transit & Rail
The Wellington rail network has been the feature of a couple of major news stories over the last few days, one good – and one not so good. The not so good news – the network Firstly, today Wellington rail users are getting a very small taste of what it’s like to be a rail user in Auckland, an hors d’oeuvre of rail disruption if you will, after Kiwirail announced on Friday afternoon that speed restrictions will be placed on all lines and fewer trains would be able to run because they haven’t been able to check the network.…
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