Subscribe to RSSLen Brown: I WILL Deliver Rail
Incoming Auckland supermayor Len Brown wants to assure AKT readers (that’s you!) he WILL deliver his promised rail projects.
And he says he is very confident he will be able to work with the National government, including transport minister Steven Joyce on how these will happen.
Only a short time after he got the news of his landslide result, he jumped at the chance to talk to AKT about his transport plans now he is elected - adding he “loves AKT ” and the enthusiasm of readers for Auckland rail.
Len Brown talks to AKT
Brown referred to light rail champion Sir Dove-Myer Robinson and said it was time to get that former mayor’s vision for rail across Auckland finally realised.
The new mayor said he will prioritise not just the CBD rail link but airport rail and rail to the North Shore.
This is what he told AKT his priorities will be:
Asked how he would deal with the government, especially Steven Joyce, who had make it clear that airport rail wouldn’t be happening, Mr Brown said Auckland had given him a clear mandate to press ahead with it along with the other rail projects and his relations with the government were good while he was Manukau’s mayor:
The Brown celebration party event was dominated by a campaign poster advertising Brown’s transport vision.
The minister who led Auckland’s local body reform, Rodney Hide said Len Brown ran a very successful campaign and this was reflected in the polls. “I wish him all the best in his new role, and look forward to working with him to ensure that Aucklanders get the best from their new Council,” Mr Hide said.
Labour leader, Phil Goff, said: ”The past two years had been controversial for Auckland, with National’s divisive and secretive agenda polarising opinion. Now is not the time to dwell on that, however. It is time for the healing process to begin, and I cannot imagine a better person to lead that than Len Brown, who has shown significant qualities in his governorship of South Auckland.
“Labour will enjoy working with the new super city, as it works to overcome the initial teething problems that will inevitably occur, and as it gathers strength in the years to come. Labour’s vision for Auckland has been to see it as a world-class city. I am sure Len shares that vision and will progress it over the next three years.”
FULL ELECTION COVERAGE CONTINUES:
Who is on council
Photos - Len Brown celebration party
Mayoral candidates - voting figures
15 Comments
” adding he “loves AKT ” ”
Congrats Jon. It must take a massive amount of time to run this site.
This is a huge result for everyone who believes in public transport in Auckland. Not just the victory for Len, but also good progressive pro-PT people in force on the Council and Local Boards. Now is the time to make it happen.
Jon - Just a slight correction, Robbies plans were not for light rail but for heavy rail like we have now, light rail is more like trams that often have a dedicated right of way but don’t have the speed or capacity of heavy rail.
Also is there a picture of the network map he has displayed anywhere, it seems odd that this is the first time it has come out.
CBD Tunnel-definitely! Airport rail-of course!
North Shore rail-no way!
The North Shore is far better suited to buses than to trains. I assume if there were trains, then they would follow the route of the Northern Busway. But the Busway goes through no town centres, unlike the other rail lines, so it loses it worthiness. Currently, most buses go direct from town centres to the CBD. Having a rail system would use up more time as people would have to transfer. If they wanted it to go through town centres then they would have to tunnel it at considerable cost.Also, there are significant gradient issues on the Shore, like the Sunset Rd ridge. In my opinion, money would be far better spent on improving the existing bus network while leaving a provision for rail in any future harbour crossing.
@Matt Thats true, will change
@Scott Thanks! Glad you love it too
As I said to you on the way out - what this election means is that future mayors will only be able to get elected on promoting a positive PT vision for Auckland. I think that is locked in - and that’s a positive thing.
I am a born and raised (28 of 32 years in Auckland) Aucklander now living in Calgary, Canada. With regards to light rail for the North Shore I believe it would be a good choice.
The light rail system in Calgary is fantastic and it is being expanded (8km being built now and another line being strongly considered), as is the case in many North American cities. Instead of long bus routes they are feeders to the rail system. During the week the trains are every 5 minutes, increase to 10 minutes for most of the day and then very early morning and late evening it is every 15 minutes. Nobody looks at a schedule for when the next train is coming, as a result the three carriages trains are generally over 50% anytime I ride on them. In fact they light rail is so successful they are extending all the platforms to take four carriages.
To me this is the kind of model that Auckland should be looking at. Because the routes are shorter for the buses they are more frequent. There are more routes that wouldn’t be viable if they had to go into town, and you would also end up with these long winding routes that take far too long for people near the end of the route from using.
“Labour leader, Phil Goff, said: ”The past two years had been controversial for Auckland, with National’s divisive and secretive agenda polarising opinion. Now is not the time to dwell on that” - Then why bring it up?
First order of business regarding train service should be is to stop treating Pukekohe commuters as second class Auckland citizens.
It takes almost the same time to travel from Britomart to Waitakere as it does from Britomart to Pukekohe, yet Pukekohe commuters have to pay an extra $45 for a Regional Monthly ticket and cannot use the Discovery Monthly Pass past Papakura.
Also Waitakere gets a service that operates outgoing from Britomart from 5.21am to 10:06pm Monday-Thursday and to 12:36pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Pukekohe currently get a service that operates from Britomart 6:10am to only 7:12pm and no weekend service at all.
As for adding new train stations, the first order of priority should be Paerata and Drury as it could replace the under used Pukekohe - Papakura bus service.
Correction to the above: for a Regional Monthly ticket it is a extra $45 for a child and $70 for an adult!
Want rail started next year!
Want planning starting monday.
And get everything running by monday. 5pm
I look forward to Len helping get the Waikato - Auckland commuter rail services running.
Hamilton City is now with a hugely pro-rail Mayor, along with nearly all the councillors.
WDC’s new Mayor is also supportive of the commuter trains and we have councillors in Te Kauwhata and Tuakau who want the commuter services.
Len, it’s the time for rail to connect Auckland internally and externally to the Waikato.
I cant believe that overnight we’re talking about Auckland moving ahead with RAIL.
Tell me please I wont wake up tomorrow and find it was a nice dream and the Old Guard are still in charge.
At least we know this is a country where unlike Afghanistan, the government doesnt rig elections!
@anon
Waitakere is only 20km from the CBD in a straight line while Pukekohe is 42km. A better parallel would be Papakura and Waitakere or Pukekohe and Kumeu, and in both cases a far superior level of service is provided in the South than in the West.
The fact that a journey to Waitakere takes almost as long as a journey to Pukekohe is due to the terribly slow average speed as the Western Line, which as a regular passenger on the Western Line I see as a significant disadvantage compared to the the faster service you have on the Southern Line.
Jonathan - I’d like to see an underground Takapuna Station because nearby is a Westfield, Apartments and many businesses and the Beach. It’s a perfect spot despite costing heaps.