Auckland’s train chaos highlights national infrastructure worries - The Front Page

Trains on Auckland's rail network could be disrupted for weeks. Photo / Michael Craig

Cancellations on Auckland’s rail network are indicative of wider issues the country needs to address, according to Infrastructure NZ.

Auckland commuters were warned of weeks of disruption were possible after dozens of trains were cancelled Monday due to heat restrictions limiting the speed the city’s trains could travel at. According to KiwiRail, which is responsible for the country’s rail infrastructure, the issue is that heat can cause the steel the trains run on to move if they pass over it too quickly.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has warned of a “bollocking” coming for KiwiRail and Auckland Transport regarding the issue. However, Infrastructure NZ chief executive Nick Leggett told The Front Page podcast that this isn’t the fault of one entity.

“What we’re seeing in Auckland with these rail lines, and in Wellington with the network there delaying passenger services, is exactly what we’ve seen with our Three Waters infrastructure, and with all the potholes we’ve seen across the country. It’s long-term sweating of assets. There has not been enough investment over long periods of time in renewing and maintaining assets that really keep our country moving every day and keep us healthy and connected.”

Leggett said other countries with hotter climates such as Australia are able to operate without these issues, as they have invested more heavily in replacing ageing infrastructure over the years.

The Infrastructure Commission believes the country has a $200 billion deficit, which covers both the backlog of work needed to replace existing assets, as well as new projects needed to improve productivity.

While Leggett has been impressed by the new Government’s promise to deliver on projects and look at alternative ways of funding things, he believes independent project pipelines that take an overarching view of projects would be more beneficial, instead of new governments coming in and changing priorities every few years.

“It’s bad for efficiency, and we don’t get the best bang for our buck. So we’ve got to line this stuff up, depoliticise it, make sure that it goes on beyond election cycle, and really accept that infrastructure shouldn’t be politicised in the way that it has been.

“We should be focusing on what’s really important, and whether that’s a blue stripe or a red stripe, I think there should be more common agreement on where we should be investing and how much.”

And, as these cancellations prove for many Aucklanders, the big-picture projects aren’t the only ones that require investment.

“Doing the bread-and-butter stuff, making sure you’ve got the money to invest, and not getting sucked into the fancy new stuff. We need a greater balance there - we need a greater media and public focus on actually just keeping the assets we’ve got in a good condition, so we don’t have to spend too much money later,” Leggett said.

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Bernard Orsman about Auckland’s transport funding conundrum.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. This episode was presented by Georgina Campbell, a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.