Subscribe to RSSReady For Bigger Trains
Additional capacity - longer trains, using 4 additional SA carriages- will finally be available for Southern and Eastern Line commuters in a fortnight.
This folllows the completion of the platform extension works on the Southern Line such as at Otahuhu, Remuera and Greenlane stations.
It will help ease the overcrowding.
But it won’t be the complete answer until the new electric trains arrive. Auckland Transport says it’s examining as part of the transition to electrification the options available for managing and meeting demand over the next few years before those EMUs are available.
Meanwhile the new extended stations are looking ready for the longer trains.
Here’s Greenlane this morning:
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Auckland, NEW ZEALANDYour Latest Comments
14 Comments
In terms of getting us through to electrification, I think we might end up seeing a few SA trains made shorter to 3 cars long so that those carriages can be used to make up more 5 and 6 car trains for use during the peak with the 3 car version only working on off peak runs
Cool. Small improvements are worth celebrating.
@George
Totally agree
Did Hop posts go in as part of the work by any chance?
any chance they might put up some shelter at the same time?
honestly, why build a long a platform, then only have a bus stand to stand under.
I’m sorry I know things have to be done in stages, but I’ve been with “that” family in “that” car driving past those stations and have heard “those” people say “why would I catch the train standing in the rain”.
Carl, they’ve got three bus shelters. But I agree, all platforms should have shelter for most of their length (not just Kingsland and Newmarket).
Pete - You can see the tag post in the middle of the first photo.
Carl - I believe the top priority became to get the platforms to the right length so that they could run longer trains, doing the shelter at the same time may have delayed things further which would do nothing to help the hundreds of people further south who are struggling to fit on trains because one platform isn’t long enough.
so instead of build it now, they’ll build it later and delay even more people again?
sorry I don’t agree.
its winter now, its raining now, get them up, and attract people so they get out of there cars and onto trains.
the knock on effect is so simple.
@ Bryan, yes that is what I meant, I used “bus” because that is about all they are.
this bs of this $2million shelter in Kingsland is rubbish.
get lights up, get a cover up, get people out of the rain.
it doesn’t cost a pocket to do it.
Greenlane station will have new shelters by the end of the year as part of the ongoing upgrade of all the stations.
Remuera has had a fully upgrade, the original station
is acting as it’s shelter, it has been repainted with new seating and looks good.
Instead of complaining, why don’t people call 04 439 9000 (Ministry of Transport) or email Mr Joyce ([email protected]) instead?
The station upgrade doesn’t include nice shiny new shelters over the whole station because AT and KiwiRail are struggling for money to pay their urgent upgrades from! Because every week, the minister comes up with a new scheme of how to increase public transport costs for Auckland.
In recent times it was cancelling the regional fuel tax and then telling us we will have to pay for the loan somehow anyway, then it was sudden increases in track access charges costing many millions each year, and last week it was reducing the Funding Assistance Ratios (FARs) for public transport, again costing Auckland Transport millions and millions every year.
I want people to stop slapping AT and KiwiRail whenever they do something less than ideal standard BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE THE MONEY. They decided that longer trains was a bigger priority right now than new shelters. So there. VOTE accordingly!
[I am not an employee of either AT or KiwiRail - but I know they are trying to work in a very challenging, and even outright hostile environment, no matter how much Wellington says different in their fancy statements.]
@Matt L - Your theory would be a decrease in peak capacity, not an increase.
They literally need 6 car platforms everywhere before they can run them. Otherwise you get people stepping off a train into nothing. Or stranded til the next long platform. So, this allows an increase in peak capacity at a reasonably low cost. That capacity increase will then allow more ridership, and more ridership demands more improvement to the service.
So, yes, this had to happen first, and fast.
George, they will have six car platforms everywhere. They have all been done, and come into use later this month. But there won’t be any more six car trains, as there are no more carriages to add to existing sets.
Geoff - How would it decrease peak capacity, by making more peak trains longer we can get more people on them, hence an increase in capacity. All that is needed is the right timetabling to ensure that the shorter 3 car trains are only used off peak or travel in the peak direction on the shoulders of the peak period.
i.e. a 3 car train arrives at Britomart at 7:15, turns around and heads back south at 7:20, it reaches Papakura at about 8:10, leaves at 8:15 and arrives back in town at just after 9. By doing this it has avoided the worst of the peak and one of those carriages can be used on a service that arrives at the busiest time which seems to be 8-8:30