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Late trains can be a pain, but early arrivals aren’t ideal either. As our last print edition hit the streets, an advertising error let the cat out of the bag regarding launch date for the City Rail Link (CRL).
Earlier than expected, a billboard confirmed that the CRL will launch on September 13. However, it hasn’t caused any problems, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and Transport Minister Chris Bishop said. Auckland council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee chair, Andy Baker agrees.
“There was a small slip-up, human error somewhere, [but] nothing of concern,” he told the Times.
The CRL is focused on the central city, but the benefits will roll down the line to Franklin also, the Franklin Ward Councillor expects.
“As it beds in, we will see more frequent and, hopefully, later train services, improvements to the bus services that connect to the train stations that service Franklin, greater access to parts of the city that have been difficult to reach [and] shorter trip times to the city,” he says.
“Also, [there will be] better travel times on the roads for those who need to use vehicles. The CRL is also the reason behind the removal of level crossings starting in south Auckland which will improve traffic flow and, more importantly, safety for people crossing train tracks.”
Two of the three new Franklin stations entered service on August 2. Early reports suggest they have been a hit with commuters.
“In just the first few days of the Drury and Paerata stations opening there were about 350 people using them every day but without any notable drop off in patronage at Pukekohe and Papakura, which suggests there are a lot of new users taking advantage of the new stations.”
The confirmation of opening date for the CRL was a little premature, but the mahi is well underway, Stacey van der Putten from Auckland Transport (AT) confirms.
“We have been making sure Auckland is ready,” she says. “We’re introducing a completely new rail network, bus connections and helping people understand the new travel opportunities.”
Any teething issues during the opening period should be rapidly overcome, KiwiRail’s Bevan Assink adds.
“We’ll have extra maintenance crews and people working around the clock at our rail operations centre, in case there are any issues during the launch period.”
Details will be announced closer to opening day.
