57 three-car electric trains will replace the current aging diesel locomotives servicing the suburban rail network when the new fleet starts arriving from Spanish manufacturers Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles SA(CAF).

The new trains will incorporate the latest technology in terms of safety, accessibility and modern amenities like on-board Wi-Fi networks. They will be comfortable, quiet, environmentally friendly and attractive.

The 12.5m mock-up pictured here, on display at MOTAT, is far smaller than the 70m trains that will travel across Auckland. But it includes a full driver’s cab and sections of the upper and lower seating areas of the passenger cabins. It was built primarily as an engineering tool to allow refinements to be made to the design and layout of the train.

Over the past three months, designers, engineers, operating crew and user groups have been assessing the interior design and making adjustments.

This work has considered such things as the size, shape and spacing of seats, the seat configuration around the doors, the provision for bike and pushchair storage and wheelchair turning spaces, along with analysing how these areas interact with the general passenger seating and flow in the cabins.

* Volunteers are occasionally updating photos here to maintain the historical record of Auckland’s path to electric trains. Jon C who started this blog moved to Brisbane and is no longer involved.

There will be changes overnight to one of west Auckland’s key arterial routes through the Waterview area when the lanes on the Great North Road are narrowed slightly and realigned. 
 
The NZTA’s State Highways Manager for Auckland and Northland, Tommy Parker, says all lanes in both directions on the Great North Road will remain open throughout the Waterview Connection project, but people should drive with caution and now be prepared for slight delays at peak times.
 
“Construction activity in Waterview will also affect local pedestrian access, and we are asking drivers to respect the speed limit and be extra vigilant when passing through the Waterview community,” Mr Parker says.
 
The changes to the Great North Road are one part of the enabling works in Waterview by the NZTA’s project delivery partners for the Waterview Connection, the Well-Connected Alliance. 

Alan Wood reserve is in the middle of the project

When completed, construction will start in the New Year on the project’s northern tunnel portal. 
 
“This is an important step for the project, and we ask for the community’s continued support and patience as we work to complete this project as quickly as we can,” Mr Parker says.   
 
The $1.4b Waterview Connection is New Zealand’s biggest and most complex roading project, and includes twin 2.4km-long three-lane tunnels.
 
The project is planned to finish in 2016 and complete the key link in the Western Ring Route, identified by the Government as a road of national significance to contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth and prosperity.  It will connect the Southwestern (State Highway 20) and Northwestern (SH16) motorways – a 48 kilometre motorway alternative for commercial transport operators, businesses, commuters and tourists that will ease pressure on SH1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge  
 
As enabling works gear up at Waterview, activity is well advanced at the southern entrance to the tunnel. The project team has been excavating layers of volcanic rock through a series of controlled blasting.   
 
A trench 30 metres deep is being excavated to accommodate the arrival next July of the project’s tunnel boring machine.  The 14 metre diameter machine,  designed in Germany and being built in China, will take a year to complete its 2.4 kilometre-long journey to Waterview where it will be turned around to burrow its way back south and complete the twin tunnels. 
 
“The enabling works at Waterview are important preparations to ensure that we can get the most efficient and smartest use from this machine as is possible, and that will have dividends for both those people neighbouring the project and the wider Auckland community.” Mr Parker says.  

* Volunteers are occasionally updating releases and photos here to maintain the historical record of Auckland’s transport developments. Jon C who started this blog moved to Brisbane and is no longer involved.

Mayor Len Brown has released the design plans and poured concrete for the $17.5 million upgrade, which includes a new station building and shelter along the majority of the platforms. The walking distance between buses and trains will be less than a minute.

The new station is part of the $100 million first phase of AMETI, Auckland’s biggest transport project after the Waterview Connection. It includes a new north-south road linking Mt Wellington Highway and Morrin Rd, a 220m tunnel for the road, cycle paths, new footpaths and three new bridges.

The upgraded station will be the entry point to the new South Eastern Busway. The busway from Panmure Station to Pakuranga town centre and Botany will cut public transport journeys by up to half and attract an estimated 5.2 million passengers per year.

Construction of the first stage of the busway from Panmure to Pakuranga is scheduled to start in 2015/16, subject to funding and consents, as part of AMETI Phase Two.

“The Panmure Station upgrade is just the latest example of the work we are doing to unclog Auckland’s roads and unleash the potential of all of Auckland,” says the Mayor.

“With 5.2 million passengers a year, the AMETI South Eastern Busway is a key part of driving major increases in public transport use.

“People will be able to quickly get from Pakuranga to all parts of the CBD by using the uncongested busway then easily transferring to a new electric train to any of four stations in the CBD when the City Rail Link opens.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown pours concrete at Panmure AMETI project announcement

“Auckland’s electric trains, integrated ticketing and projects like the City Rail Link will further boost patronage and create a transport network Auckland can be proud of.”

Auckland Transport Major Projects Manager Rick Walden says construction of AMETI is progressing well with a new road tunnel excavated and the walls almost completed.

“A new bridge next to Ellerslie-Panmure Highway is also taking shape, with beams being lifted into place. Traffic will be moved onto it at the end of the year while the existing highway bridge is demolished and replaced.”

The new higher and longer Mountain Rd bridge opened in late July and a new re-aligned section of the road opened recently.

AMETI Phase Two Panmure to Pakuranga, currently scheduled to start in 2015/16, includes

• Replacing the Panmure roundabout with a new intersection that will remove the traffic bottleneck and reduce crossing distances for pedestrians from up to 500m to less than 50metres
• A busway with lanes separate to general traffic from Panmure Station to Pakuranga town centre along the north (cliff side) of Lagoon Drive and Pakuranga town centre along the north (cliff side) of Lagoon Drive and Pakuranga Rd
• A new Panmure Bridge next to the existing one for the busway, cyclists and pedestrians
•  Completing about 7km of new cycling paths and 6km of wide new footpaths, including new paths linking Panmure and Pakuranga
• The Reeves Rd flyover, a direct link from Pakuranga Rd to Waipuna Bridge over Ti Rakau Drive and above part of Reeves Rd, avoiding congestion around Pakuranga town centre

The campus building, with 10,000 square metres of floor space, will cater initially for 1500 full time equivalent students. The campus is planned to eventually cover a three hectare area and have 25,000 students.

It will give a much needed boost to the Manukau service and a taste of a new era where trains and tertiary campus are linked- the newly announced Auckland University campus in the old Lion Brewery area in Khyber Pass Road will give a similar boost to patronage of the neighbouring Grafton station.

Architects Warren & Manhoney have an image of the finished building on their site.

Here are videos of masts being erected near the Morningside station, August 2012.

The bus consortium comprises Ritchie’s, Howick and Eastern, Urban Express, Bayes and Birkenhead Transport.

Andrew Ritchie, Chief Executive of Ritchie’s, says, “The bus consortium previously chose Parkeon as its hardware supplier and they have proven themselves to be professional and responsive in their approach to the project.  However, in the interests of a seamless approach we have now elected to move to the AT Thales solution which will also be used on trains and ferries”.

Auckland Transport’s Chief Operations Officer, Greg Edmonds, says, “While Auckland Transport is pleased with this decision, it is important to note it is in no way reflective of the ability of Parkeon to deliver the bus solution, more it is about using a single technological supplier to deliver a single solution. We are appreciative of Parkeon’s efforts to date”.Mr Edmonds confirmed bus operators would commence rollout of the AT HOP system from April next year.

The site was run for four years by Jon C to help record history in the making and you can click on Electric Trains at the top of the navigation to search back over those four years of progress.

This is the latest timetable according to Auckland Transport.

Source; AT

He has now moved to Brisbane and is no longer blogging but in order to continue a photographic record of the project, volunteers will continue to add the odd update.

While the Government remains lukewarm to it, Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and other interested parties continue to make progress towards it such as the protection of the planned route.

While blogger Jon C who ran this site for four years and a strong campaigner for it has moved to Brisbane and stopped blogging, volunteers will add the odd update to ensure that by the time it happens, this record has been kept.

Source AT

Jon C recorded four years of debate about it which you can read by accessing “HOP” at the top navigation bar.

Since he left for Brisbane and stopped blogging, there has been further development around July-September 2012 with Thales taking over the development of NZ Bus integration, turnstiles being installed at Britomart and Newmarket (above), independent bus owners signing on to Thales and a date of October 28 set for an AT HOP card for rail to be followed by its use on ferries.
Integration with all modes is now timed from April 2013.

Volunteers updating the site will from time to time add more updates and photos.

It’s incredible to see the changes that have taken place over the last four years- and you will find in the electric trains and train stations sections (see top navigation) photos going back showing improvements at stations like New Lynn, Baldwin Avenue and Newmarket.

Mt Albert is high on the list for the next set of improvements starting from December 2012.

You can read more on the Auckland Transport plans for the station here.

This site has long argued for an improvement to the station as it looks now (below).

Photos and commentary over the four eyars were the work of Jon C who has now moved to Brisbane and stopped blogging.

To continue to record the history, the odd photographic update will be added by volunteers.

Along the western line, cantilevers and portals were being installed in preparation for electric trains.

There was also bridge works at the Sandringham Road rail bridge.

There were  foundation works at Newmarket and track maintenance works at Parnell between the tunnel and bridge.

Taking place at Penrose was maintenance and welding work and at Otahuhu earthing and bonding and foundation work to ready platforms for electric trains.

More preparatory works for electrification was carried out between Puhinui and Wiri and signaling work in Papatoetoe.  There were be platform works at Takanini station, and track alignment at Homai.

The platform is now being extended.

The NZ Transport Agency  will re-open the on-ramp in the city’s busy Central Motorway Junction in about six weeks. It closed in May last year.

It was to open last November but then got “deferred” to see how traffic went after the opening of the Victoria Park tunnel.

From my vantage point living over in Brisbane, where traffic flows well, I have been bemused by the stupidity of the previous decision but I gather it has been no laughing matter for commuters and locals.

VICTORIA PARK TUNNEL: Tunnel is open but not Wellington St on-ramp

Inner city, especially Herne Bay residents have continued to email me complaining about how bad the flow on effects of the closure have been.

NZTA says before it is open there will be  the installation of ramp signals and final pavement works “to ensure it is safe to use.

It say the decision was made after a detailed investigation by the NZTA, Auckland Transport, Opus Consultants and Beca Engineering of the potential effects on Auckland’s transport network from re-opening the on-ramp or keeping it closed.

The NZTA’s acting State Highways Manager for Auckland and Northland, Steve Mutton, said the agency and Auckland Transport would be discussing the re-opening plans with local residents and other interested parties over the next few weeks.

Mr Mutton said the NZTA and AT received 710 submissions about the on-ramp:  72% of those submissions wanted it re-opened, 18% preferred it to stay closed to general traffic and 10% wanted a partial re-opening-

He says the recommendation to re-open the ramp is based on a transport assessment which indicates there is current capacity for vehicles to use Wellington Street without affecting the performance of the motorway in central Auckland, except for a period in the afternoon peak.

“These findings, together with the feedback we have received from the community, have lead us to support the recommendation from our working group for an opening at this time.”

“While there is room now on the motorway network to re-open Wellington Street, capacity is expected to reduce over time as the network has to accommodate more and more vehicles. The NZTA and Auckland Transport will be working together to monitor and manage the performance of the motorways and local roads, including the Wellington Street on-ramp,”

“Previously between seven and eight thousand vehicles used the on-ramp every day.  The critical time is the weekday afternoon peak.  The Vic Park tunnel improvements mean traffic is moving more quickly and ramp signalling will help ensure the motorway operates efficiently and safely for all drivers”.

 Read the review here

As a reluctant blogger, I’ve been bewildered by the success of AKT and its undeniable influence. First launched as aucklandtrains.co.nz, it began as an independent voice for improvement to Auckland rail pressing for a City rail loop and airport rail link long before it became fashionable and a key part of Auckland Council’s Plan.

I have created thousands of posts of original copy and there are more than 20,000 photos documenting the important last four years of Auckland’s development including the march towards rail electrification – photos and coverage not found anywhere else online. For that reason, the site remains live for the time being.

But this is my last post.

I want to especially thank those who have helped – you know who you are. Besides readers there have been the politicans both from central and local government, officials and staff from Auckland Transport, NZTA, KiwiRail, Auckland Council, Greater Wellington Council, Veolia, and others.

You’ve answered my queries, slipped me stuff and taken issue with me while recognising I’m entitled to my opinion. You are good people with your heart in the right place.

You, the reader, who have commented on articles have helped make what a good site should be – a lively vehicle for important debate. You have been awesome.

My favourite comment contributor remains a certain right wing Nat party politician with a good sense of humour who always got a bite but was remarkably and no doubt deliberately moderate here compared to what he does say in the more official public arena.

No-one ever guessed it was you, which was hilarious. Sir, your secret remains totally safe with me!

Thanks too to those in the mainstream media & Scoop who have paid me respect, quoted me, communicated with me, exchanged tips and even worked discretely together on stories. That has meant a lot.

In a few days from writing this, I will enjoying faster integrated public transport in Australia as I have in just the last few weeks decided to sadly join the brain drain.

Why? I love NZ , would love to stay and love running this site which is enjoying huge popularity and has a busy but fun project.

Auckland under Mayor Len Brown has offered a 30 year or so vision for how Auckland should be and it’s starting to show improvement that makes me believe it will become the exciting liveable city he wants it to be but he’ll need central Government to let him get there.

Nationally all our politicians are so focus-group obsessed they aren’t prepared to think beyond next week’s opinion polls let alone give us a vision of how NZ will ride out the world’s gloomy financial situation and take bold brave innovative moves to guarantee our future.

I want them to try things.

Why is there no gathering of ex-pats who have made their name overseas to find out what would entice them home or what they have learnt in the big wide world and trends they have been picked up that could be applied here.

No gathering of the creative bold thinkers amongst us to find out how to collectively work out solutions that ride above the usual gutter politics so that politicians from across parties work in the bigger interests of New Zealand to craft a long-term vision they buy into.

My reluctant decision to join the exodus is not financially driven as the media usually portrays in discussing why people move.  It’s because I’m increasingly frustrated if not depressed that NZ could be so much better, so much more interesting, and more able to hang on to people so they can do stuff here and still enjoy the lifestyle that makes NZ special.

I want to thrive in an environment that is positive, looks ahead not just obsessing about wrongs of the past and understands where the world is at in 2012 including in terms of transport, an issue obviously dear to my heart. And with a thousand people heading off a week, too many of my like minded friends have already made the move and I am sick of reading their Facebook posts about their life in their new world and how much more positive they feel about navigating the stormy global uncertainties ahead.

I’m not so naive as to assume Australia is nirvana without its own problems but it’s a big place and it will be a start, however hard it is to wrench myself away from family and friends, replace a nice laid back comfort zone at the bottom of the world  and, to be honest, to write these words that means this post signals the end of the fun of providing this site.

My blogging days are parked  so don’t expect an Australian AKT.  For as long as I can afford it, I’ll leave this running for a little longer as an historical  online record of  what’s happened over the last few years.

That’s it. Thank you. Good luck.

Jon C

Here were AKT’s craziest moments 

Below are photos of when most of the stern section of the Rena slipped off the reef. Photos were provided by  MNZ.

The bridge of the Rena (part of the stern section) almost totally submerged.

Debris start to emerge from the submerged section of Rena

The bridge of the Rena (part of the stern section) almost totally submerged.

Shot of Rena with the stern section fallen off the reef while the bow remains in place. The bridge is almost totally submerged.

Below are photos of the ship when separated into two pieces that were 20-30m apart. The forward section of the ship was still in its original position on the reef, with the stern section broken away and moving significantly, but still on the reef.

Both sections of the vessel still remained on the reef, with the forward section remaining firmly wedged, while the aft section has separated and moved clockwise (or to starboard) about 13 degrees.

Below are earlier photos:

Rena dec 4 |MNZ

Oil still leaving rena Dec 4 | MNZ

RENA: How is it staying afloat? | MNZ

RENA: Salvors are back on board | MNZ

RENA: Salvage divers resurface after inspecting the buckling on the starboard side |MNZ

Rena awaiting more bad weather | MNZ

Rena as seen by helicopter inspection | MNZ

Rena in this morning's fog | MNZ

Rena this morning after a rough night | MNZ

RENA: How it looks today

RENA: New oil hose being prepared for pumping on board Go Canopus | MNZ

Tanks on board the bollard pull tug Go Canopus, heading to Rena | MNZ

Rena: Access to the pumping is through small hole | Svitzer

Accessing Rena by rope ladder | Svitzer

Conditions on board Rena |Svizter

Rena on her 21 degree list | NZDF

Line taking oil from Rena to Awanuia is supported by buoys between the ships | NZDF

Rena ifractured across the hull to ort side, where hull is cracked & buckling |NZDF

A fracture and buckling extends down Rena's hull on the port side |NZDF

Rena listing at 21 degrees | MNZ

Containers look as if about to fall of Rena |MTNZ

Rena showing a 21 degree list | MNZ

Rena lists to starboard while Awanuia recieves oil before pumping stopped| MNZ

The next group of photos and video were shot by the Defence Force flying over:

Rena on reef |NZDF

Rena on reef |NZDF

Rena on reef |NZDF

Rena on reef |NZDF

Oil on the beach | Gemz Photography

Container washed onshore | Greenpeace

Hundreds of dead oiled birds lie on the shoreline | Gemz Photography

Cleanup on Papamoa Beach. |MNZ

Rena cleanup volunteer Rona Marie Otene | MNZ

Maritime emergency centre

Numbers refer to water depth under and around Rena | Maritime NZ

Rena this morning | NZDF

All four lanes on the flyover will carry southbound traffic and the NZTA is advising drivers to prepare well for the changes, which are being made as part of the staged completion of the Victoria Park Tunnel project.

All additional southbound motorway capacity will open at the same time as the new layout on the viaduct. This includes an fifth traffic lane through St Marys Bay and a city bound bus lane.

All additional northbound motorway capacity will open in March, including the third lane in the Victoria Park tunnel.

There will be no opportunity for drivers to change direction once they are on the flyover because the central barrier that previously separated northbound and southbound traffic will remain.

The southbound lanes to the left of the barrier will take drivers off SH1 to the CBD via Cook Street, east to the Port and west to the North Western Motorway (SH16). The two lanes to the right of the barrier will continue south on SH1 to Newmarket and beyond.

Tommy Parker, the NZTA”s local State Highways Manager calls it the biggest change on Auckland’s central motorway network since the viaduct was opened in 1962.

“We are strongly recommending that drivers chose their correct lane early, while they are still on the North Shore approaching the harbour bridge to reduce dangerous lane changes through St Marys Bay.

“It’s well proven internationally that drivers don’t gain anything by frequent lane changing. In fact, they slow the entire network down. By getting into the correct lane early, and staying in that lane, they will help make the drive through St Marys Bay a lot safer and smoother for everyone.”

VICTORIA PARK FLYOVER; Now comes the big test

Motorway signs from Onewa to the viaduct are being upgraded to reflect the new layout on the Victoria Park flyover.

Here’s a video explaining it.

• The two lanes on the Auckland Harbour Bridge northbound box girder extension, or clip-on, will be closed by the NZ Transport Agency from Boxing Day for routine resurfacing work.

The closure will start from 5am, Monday 26 December, until Sunday 8 January 2012. As well as the two bridge lanes, the Curran Street on-ramp and the Stafford Road off-ramp will also be closed.

During the closure, the six other traffic lanes on the harbour bridge will remain open – three in each direction.

Maersk Line announced today it’s permanently shifting its Southern Star container shipping service from Auckland to Tauranga -which will be good for rail.
The Auckland port company will lose nearly $20m in revenue annually as well as 52 ship calls and 82,500 containers.

Maersk containers on Auckland's port

Port of Tauranga Chief Executive, Mark Cairns, said they’ve been working for some time to attract a new import ship call to Tauranga to better balance our MetroPort rail shuttle service to and from Auckland.

The shock news caused Auckland’s port company to postpone today’s mediation with the Maritime Union of New Zealand over its dispute.

Auckland Ports CEO Tony Gibson said the Southern Star was one of Auckland’s largest shipping services.

“Maersk have explained to us that the possibility of further industrial unrest has been central to their decision to shift the service to Tauranga. We had already warned the union that their strike action, during one of the busiest times in the shipping schedule, could cost Ports of Auckland a major customer and threaten jobs.”

“However, despite these warnings, a very fair offer on the table and a further offer of a paid stop work meeting, the union proceeded with its strike over last weekend, has already given notice of another strike this Friday, and is continuing to signal the possibility of further strikes, saying publicly it will do ‘whatever it takes.’”

The service loss is effective from this week’s vessel, the Euro Max voyage 126N, which will now call Tauranga on Saturday.

Maersk Line is the world’s largest container shipping line, operating in conjunction with Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad . Its new port rotationwill be : Tanjung Pelapas (Malaysia), Singapore, Tauranga, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, Tanjung Pelapas.

Port of Tauranga says it’s starting “a significant capital expenditure programme over the next few years to ensure that the Port continues to provide customers with world class levels of productivity.”

The Employers and Manufacturers Association says Auckland importers and exporters can ill afford the extra time and cost of freighting goods to and from Tauranga or via other alternatives.

Kim Campbell, EMA’s chief executive says shifting more containers to and from Tauranga “won’t help our carbon footprint with unnecessary rail freight and more trucks on the road. Longer lead times, and increased costs are not what we need. All businesses need to adopt more flexible work practices to retain their competitiveness, and the law must ensure managers are able to manage a business.

“Any suggestion that a union owns jobs in a workplace is completely outdated.”The longer term implications are that New Zealand’s reputation as a supplier of quality goods, and our credibility as an exporter are being put at risk. “It’s one thing to disrupt the supply of Christmas presents with all the pain that causes our retailers, and another entirely to cause permanent damage to a major part of New Zealand’s supply chain.

“We certainly hope this is not the beginning of an exodus of work from the ports of Auckland.”

The curious observation from 4 years of writing this is that it’s usually not the stories where you tread on sacred crows and sweat that it will cause a storm that really get you in trouble.

It’s some innocent story you think only a few will bother reading that ends going viral globally and while it roars around the net for weeks, takes on a life of its own.

Before you know, the inbox is full of angry people shouting at you.

AKT’s policy has been rare in the blog world: to do original reporting and photography and not wait to link to stories mainstream media. It has broken many big stories often a week ahead of mainstream media -and as part of its mission, also brought you the good news stories the bad news-obsessed mainstream media ignore.

It’s obvious breaking the news about the electric trains deal will bring massive traffic.

It’s those unexpected hits that turn into the wild surprises and often run the wrath of authorities or sections of the public!

We like to be liked. Running a site like this with the volume of traffic means you have to develop a thick skin.

To be honest, I never got used to the really vile violent emails you get sometimes – but know it comes with the territory.

Fair enough. I have a soapbox (although it’s one that costs me monthly) and others want their contrary opinion recorded too. That’s why the site encourages debate. It’s the debate off the site via email that is often extraordinary if not bizarre. On the positive front, it’s often been the offline debate between people and authorities never publicly recorded that has helped people solve issues and get action behind the scenes. AKT has had numerous of those wins.

But here are just a few of those most popular widely read craziest public moments over the last 4 years:

*  Kill Jon C

Nothing prepared me for the reaction to an innocent post I wrote one Sunday night on a quiet weekend when nothing was happening in the transport world.

It was suppose to be about ways overseas bus companies were changing the seating to accommodate the fact populations were getting fatter.

I thought only the most hardened of PT geeks would get off on a post about the technical challenges of changing bus layouts as I wrote.

In the country that invented obesity along with their fat-saturated fast food, the US Federal Transit Authority proposes raising the assumed average weight per bus passenger from 68 kilos to 80 kilos which will result in fewer people being allowed on each city transit bus.
They say the average American bus rider is now tipping the scale at more than 90 kilos but current federal guidelines on average bus passenger weight are based on surveys in 1960-62 of what Americans weighed then.

The transit authority, which regulates how much weight a bus can carry, also proposes adding an 12 centimetres of floor space per passenger “to acknowledge the expanding girth of the average passenger.”

Before I could finish my breakfast, I found the Herald splashed the story across page three and online declaring I was not only waging war on fatties but was running around taking photos of fat people on Auckland buses.

I wasn’t that stupid. Because I did not have such a photo amongst my own photo library, I had taken a publcly available shot of what I thought was an obvious looking US woman from a US site which had also reported problems with obese people taking up too much room on bus seats.

FAT LADY: This photo brought near death threats

I had loaded the photo – for those who checked under the bonnet- with the name “fat lady” and the storm of protests about political correctness flooded in.

I had no right to call her fat. I mean does she really look fat to you? And if she does you can’t call her by that three letter word.

And I thought I had covered my ass by starting the original post by apologising just in case a non PT geek was reading it:

There is no way of saying this without invoking some politically correct statute and being hauled before a tribunal for hate crimes.
Here goes. Fat people are starting to create an issue on Auckland buses.

The hundreds of angry emails honestly came as close as you can get to death threats. Websites all over the place linked the story and compared me to the Devil.

Trust me to show a photograph of a woman not a man.

Feminist and lesbian groups said I was a terrible male who was attacking minority interests and had to be stopped and supporters of those groups wrote strong emails denouncing me outdoing each other with the rhetoric. To be honest, I stopped reading them when they passed about 1600.

Several said they would contemplate starting proceeedings to make an official complaint to some hate crime tribunal and also contemplating calling the police to stop me taking photos of fat people on buses.

It was the fact I was apparently getting off on taking photos of fat women that brought the strongest language.

The more I tried to explain I wasn’t and the fat lady shown was American and I had no photos of fat people, the more the nutcase brigade blocked their ears and thought they were had discovered the next Nazi war criminal.

I was waiting for a knock on the door from the men in blue.

It took many weeks for the furore to die down. Fortunately I did manage to refuse the Herald running my photo or I would have lynched as I boarded a bus during those weeks especially as I overheard 2 women complaining how outrage it was when talking on the bus one day!

* MetService Water Fail

AKT branched out to cover Auckland beyond rail but a lunchtime stroll in the CBD produced what I thought was just a mild laugh for a photo caption.

The cheeky story in January 2010 was about a clever interactive MetService billboard in Victoria St that was in fact pouring water onto innocent people going past.

WT heck?

Water is pouring down Auckland’s busy Victoria St, wasting precious water and showering people going up and down the busy pavement.

It’s actually raining on pedestrians. It’s all because of this really dumb idea. An interactive ad agency billboard for MetService, that they no doubt thought was so smart it would conquer international awards.

Maybe. But the water pours down from the billboard literally showering people as if a hose has been turned on them. Business people in business attire, who get angry. It forces everyone to avoid the overhead shower and water tricking down the pavement that they cram onto the little dry space left at the edge of the kerb.

A rainshower the MetService never predicted in their forecasts

The Herald’s Sideswipe column reprinted it (everytime Sideswipe quoted AKT over the years, traffic from an early hour went nuts) .

MetService officials were not at amused by the bad AKT coverage.

The “storm” grew leading to a deluge of public outcry and mocking amusement.

But AKT’s coverage got too much for the MetService and presumably their clever dick ad agency.

The billboard was suddenly gone by lunchtime dismantled.

AKT gloated: At lunchtime today, the annoying billboard was empty

MetService got very snarky with AKT:

“The intention wasn’t for water to spray onto the footpath and my understanding is that the wind caused problems for what has proven to be a very popular billboard with lots of positive feedback until that point, and so we have removed it.”

* The $114 coffee takeaway

One Sunday, I came across disgruntled Sandringham Rd café customers  who discovered their cars had been towed away in one speedy military style swoop while they were eating brunch or ordering coffee. The reason was of a towaway zone imposed near Eden Park because of a Sunday afternoon game.

The motorists bitterly complained that when they parked there after 10am that morning there were absolutely no signs on lamp posts warning them not to park there – and  I couldn’t see any in the relevant area when I walked past (see photo).

CARS GONE but no signs. Only notice is the longtime red “Eden Park under development”

There followed a Monty Pythoseque bureaucratic drama with Auckland City Council officers who insisted signs were up. But I refused to give up.

So then they admitted the signs were up at 7.15am – and mysteriously vanished at lunchtime. At one stage it was suggested that maybe someone in broad daylight, in full view of the cafe patrons and busy Mobil service station opposite Eden Park, had come along and ripped down all the signs. Preposterous.

The Herald’s Sideswipe column quoted AKT (for the first time of several) and the battle got more heated as the story got wide appeal.  Parking wardens and towaways strike a deep chord with Aucklanders.

Excellent local politician and Local Board member Christopher Dempsey promnised to get to the bottom of it.

In the end the Council admitted the signs were not there. Sadly, too late for that  poor person in a hurry who roared in for a takeaway, spent hours getting his vehicle back at great expense  and still got no refund for  the tow. The bastards won in the end.

Lesson learnt: When AKT is not around, make sure you take lots of photos as evidence.

I had a series of photos all along the street proving no signs and a mobile video but held off publishing them all in case the Council gave a final ruling the signs were there and I needed to hit them with the full truthful evidence.

* Auckland’s booming new carpark

AKT has long been a loud advocate for the Shared Space concept and has given extensive photographic coverage to its development around the CBD.

When the first Space at Darby St was finished, I applauded it but then, my camera was back on duty – revealing the new Shared Space was being  hijacked and in fact the city’s booming newest carpark.

This was suppose to be a pedestrian friendly car free zone

And as the days rolled on, Auckland Transport parking wardens, usually only too eager to pounce, did nothing and Auckland Transport refusing to respond to the post.

So I kept taking photos twice a day -and actually had dozens up my sleeve to name and shame.

DARBY ST: Photos reveal it wasn’t a shared space but a carpark

I even arranged for those living in close by apartments to keep an eye out and they kept sending me photos on almost an hourly basis as they thought it outrageous.

Two days before my post of a week of photos was about to go live action arrived and the Shared Space became a Shared Space.

* Security guard bans train station photos

A reader one afternoon contacted me in distress about an ugly incident at New Lynn where the train station and transport bus hub were still being constructed.

He was wandering around and thought he would take a few photos to update AKT which was very kind – and something several kind readers have done from time to time.

He was confronted by a security guard who tried to seize his camer and stop him taking photos from the street of the new transport hub saying the ARC has banned all photos of the construction until it had been unveiled. The construction was largely behind fences but his photos had been from the street. The security thug demanded his name and rang his office to report a major breach of security. The reader freaked.

The reader says the man wearing a security uniform said he was employed by the ARC and the only photos allowed of the new station were those authorised by the ARC and which they put up online.

Within an hour I posted about how outrageous it was that ARTA was banning photos.

Thanks to ARC Chair Mike Lee an immediate investigation was held and the security guards were told to back off.

AS a result of the AKT story, ARTA instructed the New Lynn transport hub security staff “to take a less bureaucratic and more understanding approach to such events in the future.”

To rub in the security guard’s ban on taking photos in the fenced off transport hub construction zone until it was opened, I provided a page of cleverly Photoshopped images of what it could be like if I had managed to sneak my way in.

A photoshopped van in front of an illustration of the sort of building design New Lynn might be

My Photoshopping was impressive as despite the refusal to let people in to see it, my mocked up photos looked very real when the fences were taken away.

Incidentally, the site has always made it clear that I have taken hundreds of photos in public spaces but if anyone objects to being included in the photos published they only have to ask for them to be removed. Several train managers, because of security concerns, did ask for their photos to be removed on platform shots and for the recored I did.

And I do have to thank the many kind officials and construction staff that have waved me through, turned a blind eye or even posed for the cameras over the years as I have crawled around recording four years of rail and building development in Auckland.

ONEHUNGA CONSTRUCTION; Workers loved posing to get on AKT

Thanks to reader Joust and his friend who sent me a specially made fluro jacket with the AKT logo. Cool present and wearing it helped me get waved into take hundreds of photos.

Only the security staff from one particular security firm found around train stations in particular have been total pricks in trying to block me.

* Big Brother in the carpark

AKT revealed a strange phenomenon concerning carpark payment options which turned up unannounced at the Wynyard Quarter’s carpark.

I wrote:

New style parking meters demand you put in your vehicle number plate -and it wasn’t made clear why the information was needed.

The AKT post went viral and drew many hundreds of angry emails many calling it Big Brother and saying they were going to bombard Auckland Transport with complaints that their rights were being seriously infringed.

I mean where will this monitoring end? Why spying agencies will get wind that I parked at the new Wynyard Quarter!

BIG BROTHER ARRIVES: You are asked for your registration

The Herald picked up the story from AKT and the more Auckland Transport tried to insist they were not spying on people, the more the furore raged and suspicion grew. I even got a serious email from someone saying he was contacting the United Nations! Good luck with that.

Then one night I raced down on a tip that the meters were being yanked out and sure enough the new carpark meters mysteriously had vanished as fast as they came.  It was one of many times I was glad I had photographic evidence what I had said existed, had. There was no longer any physical evidence down at Wynyard.

GONE BY LUNCHTIME: Suddenly the old style meters were back as if nothing had happened

* U2 night goes viral
On the night of the U2 concert at Mt Smart in November 2010, the AKT inbox went crazy with photos and comments about how bad the train experience was in getting there.

I published their photos and comments and updates and within hours wondered why the site had crashed.

U2: Panic in crowded carriages and the emergency chord gets pulled

The post had been picked up on U2 fan sites around the world and for days the site struggled under the weight of traffic.

The coverage was picked up by mainstream media in the days following the U2 concert – a story that included this prophetic line.
An email from an Australian on one of the trains going to U2 said: “Good luck with the RWC, This is a massive FAIL!”
On the U2 night I reported crowds panicking on overcrowded trains that had stopped mid journey and people were pulling the emergency button.
Sound familiar?

And how prophetic the story was as during the RWC it returned to popularity and was quoted by mainstream media once again including at news conferences of offocials defending the RWC opening night! I chuckled at seeing coverage of one such news conference where the mainstream reporter quoted the AKT report saying a news site had reported it without naming AKT.

* What goes up, suddenly stops

In the early days, I was often amused walking through Britomart and seeing the escalator out of action.

As a fit person who loves to walk and bike, it didn’t worry me but I wondered why it seemed to happen so regularly and why it took weeks to get it repaired.

So after one such observation, I threw up a mobile phone picture not thinking it would be a major story- and found it touched a big nerve among commuters.

Forget the complex government transport issues I spend hours pouring over to write posts about. Their big beef was those bloody escalators.

You know the ones. Out of action again. And all officials and staff ever did was peer over the side and shake their head.

BRITOMART: It’s escalator out of action time again

Oddly every now and then it kept happening so I thought of it as an ongoing in joke especially as on one occasion the days it was not running turned into a couple of months!

I lost count of the number of times – calling posts like Escalator Crisis No 2365!

And it’s that lightbulb time again (as in how much time does it take to change alightbulb!)

Which turned into even more of literal joke when they took weeks to change the lightbulbs on the actual Britomart platform!

I finally worked out why any story about the broken escalators drew massive traffic was because it was simply symbolic of ongoing issues frustrations and delays catching trains in Auckland. This was a symbol of something commuters could actually point their finger at as an example of how things don’t operate as they should and never seem to get resolved.

But my ongoing reporting of it struck a raw nerve with certain people at Britomart.

I got a very angry reaction when I started publishing photos of people looking as if they had no idea how to solve the problems- and kept bringing up the fact one case took 37 days to fix!

How do we fix this? It took 37 days last time

Even recently I was tipped off that pissed off staff might be checking security CCTV footage to find out who was taking the photos.

Good luck with that – I gave up tasking the photos as my inbox was full of them everytime it happened as commuters were sending them to me in volumes. You would have to ban not just Jon C but a third of people who passed through Britomart!

How pathetic. Instead of putting staff on CCTV witch hunt duty, get them to fix the problem! But it was always good to know AKT, as the voice of the fare-paying public, touched a rare nerve when it was needed.

*  The backwards train

Those who didn’t use trains have sometimes accused me of making up stories.

In fact part of the motive for doing the original aucklandtrains.co.nz blog was because family and friends got sick of my stories about the challenges of catching a train – and suspected I just had a wild attention-seeking fiction-writing imagination.

That told me to stop annoying them with the stories as they were bored by them and to get out my supposed frustration by I keeping a daily diary on an internet thinky called a web-blog.

To be honest, I never expected anyone to read it but it was therapy to record the frustrations rather than bother those around me.

In 2009 one of those stories sounded so ridiculous I did get complaints I was writing fiction.

The post headed “The Day a Train went backwards” was also taken seriously, getting linked all over the net on blogs, on news sites and those”odd wacky story” sites.

It drew thousands of readers, serious news sites wanted an interview and it remained popular for months.

I had written it on the train as it happened with the timeline and posted it from Britomart.

Re-reading it shows how far we have come from such awful episodes. Then again some of the underlying communication issues and elements of the craziness that comes with Auckland having an under developed train system are sadly still with it. Some of those communication issues- a constant theme over the four years- were with us during the RWC.

The post began this way and got more and more unbelievable:

Tonight Auckland’s trains set a new high-speed record. The 5.33pm main rush hour Westbound-train leaving Britomart to go to Swanson took exactly an hour – to get to Britomart.

That included going backwards.

In case you aren’t cool, in fashionable Auckland backwards is the new forwards.

Here’s how this miracle played out.

5.30pm: Announcer at Britomart makes some apology which sends people scurrying from one platform to Platform 5. No-one on the Swanson train waiting at Platform 3 could hear the announcement (Action Point: Install some speakers on the actual platforms as you can never hear the announcements nor can the guards on board).

5.33: Doors close. Train starts. Everyone in the carriage stares at each other sighs and thinks, oh poor bastards on the other Platform. Something must be wrong with the Southern line. Thank goodness we live out West.

5. 35 Guard goes through carriages and sells and clips tickets. He’s the nice old guy who is genuinely the most efficient, fairest and nicest guard on the service. Big Ups to Him. I think he’s the guy who wears a sign around his neck explaining he is deaf. (NB Not being un-PC but it may be relevant as he may not have heard the announcement on the platform and thought the train was OK to go).

5.38: Just a few hops up the train, well before Newmarket, train slows to a crawl and stops.
5.40: Guard clicks on the intercom which is a very primitive device as it snaps and crackles before it starts and everytime before he speaks he makes a blowing noise as if he is blowing off the dust but it may be a testing-1-2-3 thing.
Excuse me ladies and gentlemen. We have a train unexpectantly stopped in front of us. It should be going in a few minutes.”

Story continues here

*   The problem with buses

Of dear. Another of those, it’s a quiet news day, what shall I write moments got me in deep trouble.

A post listing why people said they preferred trains to buses sparked an unexpected very angry response especially via email ffrom people who accused me of being bus-o-phobic.

Sorry people. I really did not mean to offend. The suggestions were actually not mind but what people were telling me.

Those suggestion buses were smelly, seats were too close to other people and you can’t always read in the poor light at night sparked a backlash I didn’t expect from bus passengers.

Typical of the emails was one saying my post was a direct insult on his way of life and his right to choose the mode of public transport.

Oh, OK. Please move on.

*   The night our worst fears really came true

These were just a small example of some of the stories AKT has brought up in the last four years.

In terms of traffic to the site, nothing beat the opening night of the rugby world cup with triggered a 4000% increase that night alone on an already massively popular topic and continued for some weeks.

While the media initially was more focused on the actual opening events, I was blogging live from the CBD with photos and coverage and put up my last update for the night just after 3am with the promise of an inquiry.

RWC OPENING NIGHT: They queued around Britomart in frustration to get in to get a train

Some of the AKT stories were quoted by the media in coming weeks and in questions posed by reporters at news conferences.

But of all the developments covered by AKT my favourite pictures remain those of the Onehunga train station opening.

Most infrastructure openings were closed affairs with speeches from the transport minister saying how much he loved public transport and the public only got to see the action through words, photos and videos docvumented by AKT.

Onehunga train station’s opening was as it always should be. The public celebrated.

A steam train arrived at the Onehunga opening with people dressed in appropriate gear

Hundreds turned out for the opening

Mike Lee’s efforts have taken us beyond steam trains in Auckland

So many people waited for the first train, it was like a scene from last century!

And over the last 4 years there has been much to celebrate. I’m glad that apert from the crazy stuff, AKT has fully documented those magic moments.

Here is my final post

Rail line closures



Christmas Day – Full network closure, no buses replacing trains.

Monday December 26 to Tuesday January 3 – Full network closure, buses replace all trains.

Wednesday 4 to Sunday January 15 – Newmarket to Britomart and Papakura to Britomart via Glen Innes.

Monday 16 to Wednesday January 18– Newmarket to Britomart. More details

ELLERSLIE: Work on station revamp to allow fourth motorway lane

Bus replacements– details on Maxx

Major Auckland road disruptions

Auckland Harbour Bridge (December 26- January 6): Both northbound clip-on lanes, Curran Street and Stafford Road ramps closed for resurfacing. Six of the bridge’s eight lanes remain open.

Victoria Park Tunnel (December 27): Temporary change to lane layout on the flyover from Tuesday until January 9.  Full and partial motorway closures are scheduled for a number of nights before 9 January to allow final surfacing. road marking and the installation of new signs.  These will affect both northbound and southbound traffic. Work will also take place on local roads including Victoria Street West, lower Franklin Road, Union Street and Beaumont Street.

Northwestern Motorway (SH16) closure for Lincoln Road Interchange (13-15 January): A 36 hour closure of a section of the Northwestern Motorway west of the causeway for the demolition of the Selwood Road Bridge. Drivers are urged to avoid the Northwestern and use SH1 and SH18 as alternative routes.

Out of Auckland road changes

Waikato:
SH2:  The speed restriction is reduced from 100km/h to 90km/h along the majority of the 32km stretch of highway between the SH1/2 interchange near Pokeno and the SH2/25 intersection near Mangatarata. Exceptions will be the 6.2km Mangatawhiri Deviation, which will remain at 100km/h, and 1.8km through the Maramarua township where there will be no change to the 70km/h speed limit.

SH25, Kopu Bridge:  Although the new two-lane Kopu Bridge is now open, other pinch points in the popular  Coromandel area, including single lane bridges and windy coastal roads, remain which may cause delays with the arrival of huge numbers of holidaymakers.

Northland
SH10 Bulls Gorge: 80kph and 50kph speed restrictions through the construction site.

Northern Gateway Toll Road Pay online

2011 saw Auckland show a rare coming together for the RWC.

Fun times

The CBD felt unusually safe and happy as people, led by Auckland’s wonderful Pacifika community, showed we could all be one in the same space having fun.

And for a few brief hours, we discovered how wonderful it would be to walk Queen St without traffic interruptions.

Finally Auckland authorities did take to the car-dominated city and thanks to the Shared Space project,we could in a few streets like Elliott fool ourselves we were in sophisticated pedestrian-friendly parts of Europe.

AT says pedestrian activity on such streets in the CBD has increased by between 50 and 140 per cent following their introduction.

The Shared Space even emerged in the ‘burbs, in New Lynn which (first home buyers alert) is developing into a great place to live with its public transport and rejuvenated town area.

TOTARA AVE: The suburb’s successful foray into Shared Space

A waterfront for people

The Waterfront at last got opened up to the public -for the Government’s bizarre notion of a booze barn Party Central concept for the RWC including the creation of the the Cloud which grew on us but still mystified us as what it could be used for long-term.

And there’s always the fear the waterfront will improve but never be completely able to be walked as long as it’s a port – a port presently facing industrial problems and the loss of a major client.

Queens Wharf’s 100-year-old Shed 10, which at one stage had been under threat, got a makeover and is on the Mayor’s list to be the venue for the  new cruise terminal wharf

Queens got a makeover in time for the RWC

But the big waterfront success story was Wynyard Quarter; for once, a project wasn’t half-assed thrown together and the mix of industrial heritage and new gave it a San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf feel.

WYNARD QUARTER: A mix of industrial and practical

Forward planning

While Central government and other political parties can’t see beyond winning the next 3 year term, Auckland Council gave us an exciting vision for the next 10 to 40 years which included restricting urban sprawl and opening up the CBD to make it at least more pedestrian-friendly.

Pedestrian and light rail in Queen St as envisaged by the plan

RWC brought improvements

Thanks to the RWC, the city got numerous improvements.

Eden Park got a multi-million dollar makeover but remains in a challenging spot, being in the middle of a quiet old neighbourhood some distance from  the CBD.

EDEN PARK: A great makeover but is it in the right place?

International art

In September, in the middle of sports madness, the Auckland Art Gallery opened its $114m extension and again we felt as if this could not be Auckland as it was like some of the international galleries some of us have set foot on overseas. I loved the way it met Albert Park in harmony.

AUCKLAND ART GALLERY: International class

In terms of street art: City officials “accidentally” painted over the art of Askew in K Road as the city went grey for the RWC but thankfully his Morningside work near the train station survived.

ASKEW: Morningside mural survived Auckland City officials attacks

Improving the CBD

The inner city around the Auckland Town hall area at last got some attention, in part thanks to the smart Waitemata Local Board- including the much neglected Myers Park, a rare inner city park sanctum bequeathed to the city in 1915. It’s getting improvements at last.

Heritage battles

Auckland has a disgraceful history of ripping down heritage buildings and it seemed we have learnt little as buildings in St Heliers fell despite public protests and some questionable brothel owners from Wellington arrived in town. Their purchase of a heritage hotel in Victoria St is now rubble and history gone. As is so often the case, they escaped prosecution.

PALACE: The heritage tavern being demolished

NZTA soothed concerns about the Victoria Park Tunnel development by helping with heritage in the vicinity restoring the much neglected kindergarten in Victoria Park and, after moving and moving back the 125-year old Birdcage (Rob Roy) Tavern the tavern got restored -and NZTA is building a surrounding square. It will be named Wai-atarau Plaza.

RROB ROY TAVERN: The 125-year-old Birdcage gets moved back to its original spot

Britomart gets it right

The Britomart rejuvenation continued to please with restaurants and bars that gave a visible nod to the area’s important heritage.

Even the Imperial Arcade between Queen St and Fort St got a new life just before Christmas with cafes that recognised the area’s former life as an early theatre and cinema.

The Britomart East complex, across the road from the station, housing the new Ernst & Young and Westpac HQ opened. The public thoroughfare provides new escalator and lift access to Britomart’s underground train platform.

But the stunning highlights are the Natural Habitats 60 custom made panel living walls sitting between two to five stories above ground level in the atrium of that thoroughfare.

BRITOMART EAST; Eco walls help give the building a NZ Green Building Council five-star rating.

SKY moves

SKYCity did a deal with the Council & Government and in exchange for some casino privleges, got permission to build a much needed convention centre for Auckland in Hobson St.

We need the centre. Not sure about the proposed Federal St air bridge as part of the casino’s expansion. And not impressed with the need for funding overriding any moral issues.

Proposed SkyCity design for Federal St

Mind the gap

Progressive Enterprises finally bought the dreadful hole in the ground – the massive Ponsonby hole left by the failed misguided SOHO project but refuse to say what’s planned now apart from supposedly a giant supermarket to replace the inadequate Grey Lynn Countdown up the road.

The abandoned Soho excavation

Not so successful was the attempt to build a “Rhubarb Lane’ inner city New York style village in the big space available in Cook Street – it was abandoned late in the year and the space back again for lease.

We’re still awaiting work what exactly will happen to another big space- that occupied for years by the Lion Brewery in Khyber Pass Rd.

Mayor Len Brown’s PR mantra was that Auckland will be the world’s most livable city.

A big call but at least he has a plan and there are healthy signs of much-welcomed improvement.

The city feels a better place already.