Auckland Transport and Transdev prepare for tomorrow's train strike that will effect more than 30,000 people

Strike action being taken by workers on Auckland's rail network is being slammed as "premature" and "disappointing" by their employer.

The industrial action beginning at 2am on Friday is expected to last for 24 hours and affect between 30,000 and 35,000 commuters.

Members of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union are taking strike action to protest against a decision to introduce driver-only operations on Auckland's passenger trains.

But the managing director of Transdev Auckland, which runs the trains on Auckland Transport's rail network, backed the change to what he called a proven, safe system.

Michel Ladral said it had worked in busy metros overseas, including London, Melbourne and Hong Kong.

"We call it 'driver-door operations', because 'driver-only operations' suggests there's only one person on board that train. That's not the case."

"We have up to 230 transport officers roving the network and going to those trains we know are causing trouble."

Ladral said Transdev was working alongside NZTA on a safety case and had invited the union to work with them through the testing process. This was still under way.

"We're halfway through and they're already calling the strike. It's just not right in my opinion."

Union advocate John Kerr told the Herald yesterday Transdev was refusing to back down on its proposal, despite mediated negotiations.

The proposal would mean train drivers had the responsibility for monitoring door operation as well as passengers, Kerr said. He believed the division of attention would significantly increase the risk of an accident.

Kerr said he regrets the inconvenience the strike would cause, but workers were determined they would not compromise on safety.

Auckland Transport's chief transport services officer, Mark Lambert, was anticipating every other mode of transport to be busier due to the absence of train services.

He encouraged people to travel outside of peak times and consider ride-sharing or if possible, working from home.

Lambert also noted the short notice of the strike action - a little more than 24 hours - had made it near impossible to put contingency plans in place.

"We're disappointed with the short notice. We would have expected a longer time period so we could put more contingency plans in place to actually provide as best an alternative option for our customers as possible."

Auckland Transport was seeking limited additional buses to support some bus routes and ferry and bus services would operate as normal. However, Lambert said there were only a handful of extra buses that could be put in use.

"During the morning peak in Auckland we're operating around 1300 buses. They're all in service, there's not a number of buses just lying around not being used."

Auckland Transport staff would be on duty at some locations to assist customers with information and updates would be available on the AT website, Twitter and Facebook.