I have a thing for trains. I don't know whether it started with Thomas the Tank Engine when I was a small child, or fantasising about the Hogwarts Express as a teenager, but I'm a big fan of the choo-choos. I'd rather sit in traffic than take a bus(yes, I'm a very bad millennial who is letting the side down), but if there's an option to take a train, I'll be there with bells.
When I lived in Parnell, I'd often jump on the train to head into the city, or make my way back from concerts at Mt Smart via rail. When I was in the UK, the London Underground would always be my first choice for travelling between meetings. When I had to travel further afield, the British rail network always had a train bound for where I was headed. It made getting around the city and the country incredibly easy.
When in London, the Underground is the way to travel. Photo / File
In my opinion, if there's something Auckland needs more than any other transport infrastructure, it's a decent, reliable, well-functioning, and accessible train network. One with stops in most neighbourhoods, a rapid train route to the airport, and regular services. A system that links with the existing rail network, and stretches south to Hamilton. And if you could get it to reach across the harbour to the North Shore and beyond, even better.
The recent announcement that the NZ Transport Agency had botched the assessment phase of the Auckland light rail project was met with condemnation and comparisons with the ill-fated KiwiBuild project, but I can't help but wonder whether it may have been a blessing in disguise. With a new bid on the table – this time being assessed by the Ministry of Transport – that sounds suspiciously like it might involve heavy rail, Aucklanders could stand to gain from the delay.
Construction on Albert St for Auckland City Rail Link project. Photo / Dean Purcell
Can you imagine the impact that an "Auckland Underground" metro system would have on our biggest city? Reading news reports that hinted at a rapid transport option in the NZ Infra bid, I drifted into a daydream in which I could walk to the end of the street, descend into a metro station and access any part of the city I wanted without having to worry about traffic or parking. Imagine not having to pay an arm and a non-essential organ to park in the CBD. Imagine not sitting on the Southern Motorway watching precious moments of your life ebb away while trying to avoid a Vitz with a death wish cutting in and out of jammed lanes and a ute driver with an anger management problem up your behind. Be still, my beating heart!
Of course, no such underground option has been announced, though leaked documents seem to show that the NZ Infra bid includes some underground and some elevated sections, but the mere thought of a mythical Auckland Tube was enough to work me into a flutter. The cost of the light rail project has already been revised to around $6 billion. Call me a wild Keynesian socialist if you want, but I'd rather we spent $10 billion and ended up with a world-class underground rail system than bang a few trams down Dominion Rd.
I know a metro wouldn't be a silver bullet to solve all of Auckland's transport woes immediately. Some of the most extensive and effective metro systems in the world were built in the 1800s and have been continually upgraded, so there's no way that we could replicate such a network in one build, but over the course of a few decades, we could develop an underground rail system that revolutionises how we get around in the Big Smoke.
Aucklanders spend valuable hours stuck in traffic. Photo / NZME
We're all sick of Auckland traffic. Aucklanders are sick of spending valuable hours of their lives stuck in it, and other New Zealanders are sick of hearing Aucklanders whinge about it. It's time that the Government bit the bullet and invested in a high cost but high gain schedule of work that will make major changes to the way we travel through the city. It's a good time to borrow, and we've already got a surplus to kick-start the work.
Small projects that tinker here and there around the edges are not going to solve our transport crisis. The city is growing at such a rate that by the time piecemeal projects come on line, they're outdated and ill-equipped to cope with the strain of a ballooning population. The much-loathed Takanini motorway extension is a good example. It seems like we've spent about five centuries crawling at a snail's pace, and by the time it's finished, I bet it'll be gridlocked again within a few short years – if that.
On top of the strain of exponential growth, Auckland is currently reaping the rewards (or rather, penalties) of decades of underspending on essential infrastructure. Throwing a few hundred million at this or that stretch of road, and a few more millions at cycle lanes is not going to cut it. Now is the time for big, bold decision-making that will make a real and lasting difference.
So, screw the trams, and give me a metro. Let's choo-choo this!
