Trains To Huapai Public Meeting
Press Release – Public Transport Users Association
Transport advocacy groups the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) and Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) are hosting a public meeting to discuss Trains to Huapai at St Chad's Church, 7 Matua Rd, Huapai, at 1.30pm on Saturday 7 June 2025.
Northwestern residents in urban Huapai-Kumeu and surrounds, arguably have the most stressful commute in the country, and inadequate public transport.
The two-lane State Highway 16 has 16,000 more vehicles than the Waikato Expressway, 10,000 more than Transmission Gully and 12,000 more than the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway.
Auckland Transport's 'solution' only offers a rapid busway in 10-20 years which will require the demolition of the Kumeu/Huapai central business area.But the people need public transport now and rail is the best and easiest option which could be delivered in short order.
Trains to Huapai services could use existing infrastructure. A crossing loop is available at Waitakere to run an hourly shuttle to Swanson and half hourly in the rush hour. The Waitakere tunnel is fit for electrification, hybrid-electric, or fully diesel trains. Three privately owned train sets are available for use. A four carriage train set could be provided for $150k within six months – so a rail service could be in place when the City Rail Link opens. A private investor is prepared to pay for the service for five years. KiwiRail initially said the cost for such a service was $145m. They now say it is now $20m. PTUA analysis says it could be done for $8.2m to $9.2m. So it's affordable, doable and timely to deliver comfortable, efficient and fast Train services to Huapai now.
Campaigners have had the Trains to Huapai proposal blocked by Auckland Transport and more recently, by KiwiRail with a very 'can't do' attitude which they say 'is now bordering on ridiculous.'
PTUA chair Niall Robertson says 'We believe that both AT and KiwiRail are reneging on their responsibilities to provide appropriate and needed transport services to the Northwestern community, especially as funding will be provided for five years from a private source with no need for ratepayer or taxpayer input.'
CBT convener Jodi Johnston says, 'This is an innovative, novel solution to this problem at no cost to ratepayers or taxpayers which is being deliberately blocked by officials, despite support for the idea from both local and national politicians'.
The PTUA and CBT urge Auckland Transport (AT) and KiwiRail to acknowledge the need for the service and for the politicians to deal with AT and KiwiRail and get things moving now!
Guests invited to talk at the public meeting are: Greg Sayers, councillor for Rodney, Guy Wishart, local Rodney board member, Kerrin Leoni whau councillor and mayoral candidate, Niall Robertson, chair of the Public Transport Users Association, Jodi Johnston, convener of the Campaign for Better Transport. The MC will be Christine Rose, Local resident, past chair of the PTUA and past Auckland Regional Councillor. We have apologies from, The Honourable Chris Bishop, Minister of Transport, The Honourable Winston Peters, Minister of Rail, the Mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown, the Honourable Chris Penk, Rodney-Mahurangi MP.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
4 days ago
- 1News
Charges filed against KiwiRail over Aratere grounding
Maritime NZ has filed two charges against KiwiRail following an investigation into the grounding of Interislander ferry Aratere last year. The Aratere grounded just north of Picton on June 21 last year, with 47 people onboard at the time. No one was injured and the vessel was refloated two days afterwards, with damage to its bow that required repair. Maritime New Zealand's chief executive Kirstie Hewlett said the charges relate to failures by the operator to keep crew and passengers safe while onboard the ferry, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. "This was a complex incident and important investigation given it focused on KiwiRail bringing in new systems to older vessels and broader safety management. ADVERTISEMENT "It required us to look at systems, policies and procedures, culture, within KiwiRail in relation to the incident." She said a "significant number of interviews were conducted" and a substantial amount of evidence collated. Three investigations are looking at what happened to the vessel when it hit the coastline near Picton. (Source: 1News) "The time taken to undertake this investigation, collate and review the evidence, and decide on compliance action is consistent with other complex and major incidents," she said. "As we have now filed charges in court, we cannot talk about what our investigation found," Hewlett said. In October last year, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission released an initial report into the incident, finding that less than three minutes passed between crew on the Aratere switching on autopilot and the ferry grounding. TAIC will release a final report with further analysis and any possible recommendations at a later date. ADVERTISEMENT Earlier this year, the Government announced the ferry would be retired by August 30 to make way for required Picton port redevelopment in preparation for the two brand-new Cook Strait ferries arriving in 2029. The grounding was just one of many incidents that have plagued the vessel in its 25 years of crossing the Cook Strait. Interislander responds In a statement, Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy told 1News the company has "made improvements to our processes and systems to avoid an event like this happening again". Roy said an internal investigation carried out in the immediate aftermath of the incident led to nine recommendations – the majority of which have been implemented. "This includes a full review of training processes especially for critical equipment, and reviews of our contractor management and risk management procedures." Since returning to passenger sailings, the Aratere has made more than 1100 crossings of Cook Strait, carrying over 133,000 passengers and 64,000 private and commercial vehicles, Roy said. The vessel's reliability is at 98% this financial year. ADVERTISEMENT In 2024, Interislander brought in independent overseas assessors DNV to review its three ships and their maintenance. Roy said DNV found the ships were in good condition for their age and with the company's stringent maintenance regime, there was no systemic reason why they cannot continue sailing safely until 2029. The charges Charge 1: s48 charge - in that it had a duty as a PCBU, namely to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of those passengers and crew who would sail aboard the Aratere and that failure exposed crew members and passengers to the risk of death or serious injury. Maximum penalty $1.5m Charge 2: s49 charge under HSWA - in that it had a duty as a PCBU, failed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of those passengers and crew who would sail aboard the Aratere. Maximum penalty: $500,000
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
KiwiRail charged over Cook Strait ferry grounding
Photo: Supplied / Renee Horncastle Maritime NZ has filed two health and safety charges against KiwiRail over its grounding of the Interislander ferry Aratere nearly a year ago. On June 21, 2024, the ship grounded just north of Picton with 47 people on board. No-one was injured and the ship was refloated just under 24 hours later. A preliminary Transport Investigation Commission report found the event started with an autopilot mistake. Maritime NZ chief executive Kirstie Hewlett said the two charges filed under the Health and Safety at Work Act related to failures by KiwiRail to keep crew and passengers safe while on board. "This was a complex incident and important investigation given it focused on KiwiRail bringing in new systems to older vessels and broader safety management." Hewlett said Maritime NZ looked at systems, policies, procedures and culture within KiwiRail with regard to the grounding. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said due to the charges being before the courts they could not comment on them. Roy said since the grounding the Cook Strait ferry service had made improvements to its processes and systems to avoid a repeat of this issue. "We immediately undertook an internal investigation which resulted in nine recommendations - seven of those recommendations have been completed. "This includes a full review of training processes especially for critical equipment, and reviews of our contractor management and risk management procedures." He said since the breakdown Aratere had made more than 1100 crossings of Cook Strait, carrying over 133,000 passengers and 64,000 private and commercial vehicles.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
KiwiRail charged over Aratere ferry grounding
Photo: Supplied / Renee Horncastle Maritime NZ has filed two health and safety charges against KiwiRail over its grounding of the Interislander ferry Aratere nearly a year ago. On June 21, 2024, the ship grounded just north of Picton with 47 people on board. No-one was injured and the ship was refloated just under 24 hours later. A preliminary Transport Investigation Commission report found the event started with an autopilot mistake. Maritime NZ chief executive Kirstie Hewlett said the two charges filed under the Health and Safety at Work Act related to failures by KiwiRail to keep crew and passengers safe while on board. "This was a complex incident and important investigation given it focused on KiwiRail bringing in new systems to older vessels and broader safety management." Hewlett said Maritime NZ looked at systems, policies, procedures and culture within KiwiRail with regard to the grounding. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said due to the charges being before the courts they could not comment on them. Roy said since the grounding the Cook Strait ferry service had made improvements to its processes and systems to avoid a repeat of this issue. "We immediately undertook an internal investigation which resulted in nine recommendations - seven of those recommendations have been completed. "This includes a full review of training processes especially for critical equipment, and reviews of our contractor management and risk management procedures." He said since the breakdown Aratere had made more than 1100 crossings of Cook Strait, carrying over 133,000 passengers and 64,000 private and commercial vehicles.
