The first test train goes through the full length of Auckland's City Rail Link tunnels.
Nineteen thousand passengers an hour are expected to be using Auckland’s City Rail Link at peak times when it opens, much lower than previous forecasts of 27,000 people.
Auckland Transport (AT) rail services group manager Mark Lambert said the train timetable being developed will provide a significant increase incapacity when the City Rail Link (CRL) opens next year.
It will provide a peak capacity of about 19,000 passengers per hour, a significant step up from the current capacity of 12,000 and above the capacity in the 2015 CRL business case, Lambert said.
Publicity material has promised “More Trains, Faster Journeys” once the long-awaited project opens in about 12 months after a spend of $5.5 billion and years of disruption.
The 19,000 figure is at odds with earlier numbers cited multiple times showing patronage rising from 15,000 passengers per hour to 27,000.
In a 2022 report on the governance of the CRL project, Auditor-General John Ryan said the estimated cost to enable the CRL to start passenger services was about $5.5b.
"More trains, faster times" is the promise from the City Rail Link when it opens in 2026.
KiwiRail general manager metros Jon Knight told the Herald in October 2022 that the rail network rebuild “is part of enabling the CRL day-one capacity increase to 27,000 passenger trips”.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said businesses were looking forward to the CRL opening, but the patronage numbers appeared to be going in the wrong direction.
The CRL is due to open to passengers next year. Photo / City Rail Link
Lambert said the current train patronage in the city centre was about 10,000 passengers per hour, meaning passenger numbers will nearly double.
“Auckland Transport must operate the passenger train network in a financially responsible way. This means providing the right frequency and capacity of trains to meet demand, supporting our ambitions for growth in train use without oversupplying or incurring excessive cost,” he said.
The 19,000 figure would be achieved by running a maximum of 16 trains per hour per direction, using a mix of three-car and six-car trains.
“We are increasing our train fleet by about 30% to make this possible, and hiring more train drivers and crews,” Lambert said.
Reaching 27,000 passengers per hour would require more trains to run at 18 trains per hour per direction, all using six-car trains, he said.
The CRL is designed for a maximum capacity of 54,000 passengers per hour. This goal is decades away and requires an investment of more than $6b for new electric trains and stabling facilities, new rail lines, lengthening stations for nine-car trains, removing level crossings and further upgrades to signalling technology.
In the lead-up to the opening of the CRL, KiwiRail has been working on a $550 million project since 2023 to rebuild the network’s ageing foundations, involving regular closures of part or all of the commuter rail services for short and longer periods.
“We are confident the network will be in good shape to accommodate the increase in traffic,” KiwiRail chief metro and capital programme officer Dave Gordon said.
The rail network rebuild has been taking place since 2023. Photo / Alex Burton
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the Government made a substantial investment of $159m in the rail network rebuild in the 2024 Budget, increasing train volumes to 16 trains per hour.
He said the 19,000 patronage figure for the CRL on day one was an operational issue for AT.
A statement from the mayoral office said Wayne Brown understood AT was working closely with KiwiRail to ensure services were optimised when the rail link opened.
“Mayor Brown understands government funding provided to KiwiRail ... will support the rail maintenance work needed to ensure the network operates reliably once the CRL opens,” the statement said.
When he stood for the mayoralty in 2022, Brown predicted patronage would be lower than planned, saying by the time the CRL opened, so many businesses would have failed that citizens would have learned not to be there. He has also supported the project, saying it would deliver benefits for Aucklanders.
Beck said that on the face of it, the patronage numbers looked concerning and meant it would take longer for the central city to recover from the CRL build and associated roadworks.
“I’m concerned about the overall number of people in the central city. There has been a drive to get cars out before we have had great [public] transport, and businesses are feeling the pain, particularly in the midtown area,” she said.
Auckland councillor Mike Lee has played a key role in the revitalisation of rail in Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
Auckland councillor Mike Lee, who has played a major role in the revitalisation of commuter rail in Auckland over the past 20 years, said there was supposed to be a gargantuan leap in visitors coming to the city centre once the CRL opened.
Lee said that may have been true when construction of the CRL began in 2016 and rail patronage was increasing year by year, but the project had been used to roll out what he labelled “reckless street improvements” that had turned people away from the city centre.
“The result is graphically symbolised by the closing of Smith & Caugheys, just one of dozens of businesses that have closed in the city centre,” Lee said.
Lambert said after the CRL opened, patronage would be continually reviewed.
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