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CONGRATS: You made it home!
In Auckland today, delays of 8 or 9 minutes were not unusual on the troubled Western Line, on which there was an unacceptable 46% punctuality record last month.
There is no sign of any improvement on that line so far this month.
But the capital’s never-ending problems with its old fleet of trains had yet another bad day.
There were mechanical issues all day on the trains. Three services were cancelled by 10am.
As school hometime and peak hour loomed, the 3.30pm service on the Paraparumu line was cancelled.
Johnsonville passengers had an especially trouble and frustrating day.
This afternoon, the 3.28pm service from Wellington on the Johnsonville line and the 3.51pm service from Johnsonville were cancelled because of a mechanical fault.
From 5pm trains were down to halfhourly and buses replaced trains from 730pm.
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In breaking news today, Kiwirail mechanics put their hands up, and admitted ‘we were actually watching sport on Sky, instead of regularly servicing the trains. And we will be next week, if ya want to bring some beers’.
Kiwirail spokesperson Shazza Huntfornothing responded, saying ‘well, that’s that then. Explains nicely why the regular service checks failed to pick up the need to replace worn out components. No need for further questions; we can all take a nice long weekend’.
The response of the howling mob on the platforms was not recorded, as the media couldn’t be arsed sending a journo out there. According to The Daily Breakdown chief boonswaggler Neils Beforemoney, ‘If it didn’t happen in the CBD, it didn’t happen’.
Better late than sorry. This the exact commentaries that lead to extreme policies that in turn cause accidents that in turn cause deaths and settlements in the millions and in turn causes a lot of grief and then….
Thankfully the 5:10 to Porirua was still running on time. I am yet to be held up by commuter services in the last 2 weeks on the Paraparaumu line. We are lucky on the Paraparaumu line as there always seems to be delays everywhere else. I think the older rolling stock which runs on the Hutt and J’vill has helped cause many of the delays. Can’t wait for the new trains!