Commuter trains could reach provinces

Waikato and Northland residents could have direct commuter rail links with Auckland if regional transport leaders achieve a long-term goal flagged yesterday.

The Auckland Regional Council is considering using what are predominantly freight rail routes to bring in commuters on new diesel trains from as far as Wellsford and Hamilton.

These would be in addition to new electric trains which the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, a council subsidiary, says should be introduced within six years between Swanson and Papakura or Drury.

"We have a rail network sitting there - it is imperative we use it to the maximum," council chairman Mike Lee said last night.

His declaration followed confirmation by the transport authority yesterday of details of a rail rapid transit "vision" by which it believes patronage could ultimately be boosted from about 3.8 million passenger trips a year now, to 68 million.

The authority envisages pushing patronage to about 38 million trips by 2030, using mainly electric, but also some new diesel trains, and a tunnel under Albert St to Mt Eden forming an inner Auckland loop line through Britomart station.

But it believes numbers could be almost doubled after that by running rail connections to the airport and creating an outer Auckland isthmus train loop connecting Southdown on the existing southern line to Avondale on a duplicated western line.

Authority chief executive Alan Thompson told the ARC's transport policy committee yesterday that these were not "fairytale" figures.

"Such figures do operate in cities with comparable populations to Auckland," he said, namely Portland in the United States and Perth in Western Australia.

He told the Herald last night that although the first priority was to upgrade suburban rail, Auckland was growing so fast it would be "entirely appropriate" after that to reach further out to offer commuters an alternative to clogged motorways.

The transport authority is already spending $164 million on upgrading stations, refurbishing elderly rolling stock and duplicating the western railway line, and has plans to spend $529 million more on continuing this work, upgrading signals, and laying track to central Manukau.

Its rail rapid transit concept plan, made public yesterday, estimates $500 million more would be needed to electrify the core network, with overhead lines, new signals and 39 new trains, compared with $381 million to buy new diesel units.

A loop tunnel from Britomart to Mt Eden under the western side of the central business district would cost another $500 million to $1 billion.

The authority's first task, however, is to find funding partners for an electric rail system.