Kerre Woodham: Auckland is far behind the eight ball when it comes to trains

For those who have been here over summer, Auckland is a lovely place to be.  A lot of residents push off, and it feels like the city is yours to explore, and visitors are very welcome and make a welcome addition to the city, new people with new energy and seeing things that you don't see, seeing the city through new eyes. 

But it's going to be a little bit tricky to get around, unless you fancy a bus on a sweltering day or you bring your car, because Auckland trains have announced that they're delivering the last big push on the rail network rebuild and other critical city rail link preparations. 

There'll be more than 1,300 people involved in repairing tracks, building new platforms, pedestrian bridges, removing level crossings, and testing the timetable. So, thank you very much to those 1,300 who will be working in the heat over summer to get the CRL up and running, but it does mean the closure of the Auckland rail network from the 27th of December to the 28th of January. 

It'll be fully closed for most of the time, with the exception of some southern eastern and Ōnehunga line services returning between the 19th and the 26th of January. Auckland Trains say balancing delivery with minimising disruption to passengers and freight is tricky to get right. So, using holiday periods when demand is lower means we impact fewer people, they say. For those staying in Auckland or working right through, we understand this is frustrating – and it will be. If you're one of those essential workers working right through, it will be frustrating to know that an efficient public transport option is closed to you, quite literally. 

And for those who are looking to be the first people in the world to welcome in the new year in Auckland City Central, I mean, it's a hell of a spectacle. You've got SkyCity with the fireworks display and Vector with their lights, great music and it is a happy fun time, but imagine having good times and energy and well factor and then hopping on a bus crammed to the gunnels, chugging back out to Pukekohe. Is that really how you want to begin your new year? It's hardly the hoots wahay you're looking for, is it? 

A bus is not a train. Showing that I understand mechanics and engineering, a bus is not a train. Several buses are not one train. 

I do get it. I really do. There has to be some short-term disruption for long-term gain. And I do want to be able to travel hither and yon on public transport if I can do so safely and efficiently, as I do in other cities, I love jumping on the subway or the metro and even the buses. But Auckland's so far behind the eight ball. London opened its first deep-level tube line with electric trains in 1890. The New York subway opened in 1904 and Paris's metro a few years earlier in 1900. So, it's taken us a hot minute to get with the program, even allowing for economies of scale. 

People will use public transport if it's efficient and it's safe and it's going. They're not going to use it when it's shut. We're seeing increasing numbers of people choosing other modes of transport other than the car, according to the latest AA survey. 

Now, you'd expect people who belong to AA, you know, to love their cars, and they do. 97% of the 7,000 members who responded drove in the four weeks before taking the survey, but 60% also walked where they needed to go, 15% had cycled, 15% had bussed, and 6% had hopped on a train. Imagine how many more there would be if we did have an effective public transport system that was actually running. 

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