Tranz Rail asks city passengers for patience

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Train delays continue to mar the opening of the Britomart rail station as thousands of people weigh up whether to switch to rail.

Teething troubles during Monday's opening day spilled over yesterday. Many journeys were late and some passengers questioned the benefits of catching a train into the central city.

Tranz Rail apologised for the delays and asked commuters for their patience while the changeover to Britomart settled down. A points failure near the old train station at Beach Rd during the morning hour rush and some finishing work on one of the two new sections of line at Beach Rd contributed to the delays.

This led staff at Britomart to turn off electronic information signalling at 10.25am and announce departures manually. The electronic signalling came back on at 1.30pm.

Former Papakura mayor David Hawkins said the trains were 25 minutes late on Monday and yesterday his wife waited almost an hour to get a train at Britomart.

"This Britomart centre looks wonderful - but it's a waste of money for everyone if trains are not going to run on time. Commuters, who need the service, are going to find other ways of travelling," Mr Hawkins said.

First-time commuter Phil Taylor said his 5.30pm journey home to Mt Eden from Britomart on Monday took about 22 minutes instead of the scheduled 12 minutes.

Yesterday morning's 8.19 service from Mt Eden was going fine until Beach Rd when the train stopped. After about 10 minutes, a ticket collector told passengers about the points failure. The train pulled into Britomart at 8.55 - 24 minutes late.

"I will try it again but it is going to have to perform more consistently because people coming to town have got appointments and have to be in at a certain time," Mr Taylor said. "It's hard to plan the day if you don't know what time you are going to get in to town."

At 12.30pm, Mollie Sharples and Catriona Douglass were waiting for the 12.15 Waitakere service.

Their trip in from Remuera station had also been delayed, by 10 minutes, but the pair refused to let the hold-ups spoil a day out on the trains. They were glad that Auckland had a gleaming new station - "at last".

"We should have had it with Robbie," said Mrs Douglass, referring to Sir Dove-Myer Robinson's plans for rapid rail in the 1970s.

At lunchtime the new station was busy with hundreds of people coming through to inspect the underground concourse. Many gathered at an information board and took away train timetables.

Sharfraz Rahim, a broker who works in the nearby Downtown Centre, said he would consider catching the train from New Lynn, which would be cheaper and more convenient than parking at Beach Rd.

Meanwhile, work is due to start on upgrading rail stations down the line from Britomart.

Finance Minister Dr Michael Cullen plans to write to political factions in Auckland in "firm but final" terms over access to the rail network.

This will free up money from Infrastructure Auckland for $3.2 million of safety and lighting work and a $6 million upgrade of stations at Glen Innes, Ranui and Papatoetoe.

The work has been organised by Auckland Regional Transport Network, the company set up and owned by local councils to develop the network. Chairman Ross Keenan said once money was available from Infrastructure Auckland work would begin within 48 hours.

Chris Mackenzie, a senior adviser to Dr Cullen, said the Government and Australian company Toll Holdings' planned takeover of Tranz Rail would not affect commuter services in Auckland.

Mr Mackenzie said the Crown had already bought the Auckland rail network and train slots for $81 million and nothing had changed.

Rail services


* Peak-hour every 15 minutes to and from Papakura

* Peak-hour every 30 minutes to and from Waitakere

* Weekday services from 5.30am to 9pm

* Saturday services every hour on the southern and western lines

* No Sunday services

* Single ticket prices from $1.10 to $5 ($7.20 to Pukekohe)

What happens next

* July 25: Official Britomart opening

* August 3: Buses return to Britomart

* End of 2003: Trains run every 10 minutes to Papakura at peak hours. Services extend to 11pm and Sundays

* 2004-2007: New trains, 40 stations upgraded, Manukau link built and double tracking of western line

* 2007-2008: Electrification of rail network

* Beyond 2009: Possible new rail links including a tunnel from Britomart to Mt Eden, Avondale to Southdown, and airport service

* Tell us what you think of the new rail services and Britomart rail station. Email the Herald News Desk.