Auckland’s $6 billion light rail programme could extend to Kumeu in the northwest.
But a group promoting extension of passenger rail to Kumeu says trains can provide fast, frequent and reliable service at less cost, also carrying freight to Auckland Airport and reducing road congestion.
“For both the airport and Kumeu, heavy rail services offer better value for money and faster delivery,” Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) chairwoman Christine Rose says.
“Plans for light rail ignore existing lines on the railway network, in particular, the North Auckland Line beyond Swanson and out through Kumeu; which local communities and advocates argue should be revived for passenger services in advance of expensive new light rail on a whole new corridor.”
The association says the tram route west is unclear, will require feeder services and could cause major disruption.
NZ Transport Agency chief executive Fergus Gammie told the NZ Herald the plan for modern trams from the CBD to Westgate in West Auckland will probably be extended to Kumeu.
Gammie also says the NZTA believes the best route between the CBD and Auckland Airport is by train to Puhinui and transferring to buses or trams for the 6km leg to the airport.
The agency still intends to build a $3.7 billion line for modern trams, aka light rail, from the CBD to the airport but sees the line as combining transport and development opportunities along the corridor, Gammie says.
So the project has been renamed the CBD to Mangere project, which will still serve the airport and allow workers to travel there, the Herald says.
The changes came after Labour handed over responsibility for light rail from Auckland Transport (AT) to the NZTA and promised to build light rail from the CBD to the airport and West Auckland within a decade.
Its rapid transit plans also include a busway from Botany to Puhinui train station, and on to the airport.
Transport minister Phil Twyford’s office says he agrees with what Gammie advocates.
Congested roads from a housing boom and projections of 25,000 more homes in the northwest by 2032 are driving the trams to Kumeu plan.
While the PTUA says there’s no official study comparing the cost of rail, modern trams or a busway from Puhinui to the airport, Gammie says the NZTA is doing business cases for the two light rail lines by early next year.
A former director-general for transport services in New South Wales, Gammie was involved in light rail projects in Newcastle and Sydney.
“Every light rail project around the world has been disruptive, but everyone loves light rail when it is finished.”
