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Aucklanders urged to take care when travelling on Monday Aucklanders urged to take care when travelling on Monday

Date: 29 January 2023

Aucklanders should continue to take extra care when they are out and about, Auckland Transport is advising, as while many roads have reopened there is still damage on roads and closures remain around the region.

Periods of heavy rain are forecast for Monday and Tuesday which have the potential to cause further prolonged disruption across the road network and for public transport services.

Auckland Transport Interim Chief Executive Mark Lambert says that while significant progress has been made since Friday evening there will continue to be significant disruptions across the transport network for some time as repairs are undertaken.

“I would again like to thank our teams for the massive effort and significant progress made on reopening roads and restoring public transport services across the region, however, we’re asking Aucklanders for their patience over coming days as further significant work is needed.” Mr Lambert says.

Work to clear slips and blockages on roads across Auckland is progressing well, with the closed section of Great North Road at Waterview and the South Eastern Highway expected to reopen this evening.

Train services expected to resume on Tuesday

Subject to any further weather impact we are planning to resume train services on Auckland’s Eastern, Western and Southern rail lines on Tuesday.

We have been working closely with the track owner KiwiRail and rail operator Auckland One Rail (AOR) to understand the extent of damage to the rail network and put together a plan for safely resuming services from Tuesday.

Because of significant slips and areas of subsidence on the Eastern and Western lines services KiwiRail will be placing speed restrictions on the network and we will need to operate to a reduced schedule until repair works can be completed.

Mark Lambert says it’s been a big team effort by Auckland Transport, KiwiRail and AOR since Friday to put together a plan to get rail services back up and running from Tuesday.

“The extreme flooding on Friday has caused damage to various sections across Auckland’s rail network but we are confident that we can safely run some services from Tuesday.

“Because of the damage across the network we will need to run passenger trains at reduced speeds at various points, meaning that customers will experience longer journey times as well as reduced timetables and unfortunately will need to make transfers in some cases to complete their journey.”

Train services are planned to resume from Tuesday with the following changes, subject to any further weather-related impacts. Further service details to be provided tomorrow:

Eastern Line and Southern Line

  • Eastern Line services will run between Manukau and Ōtāhuhu only. Customers will need to disembark at Ōtāhuhu and transfer to Southern Line services to the city centre.
  • Southern Line services will still run from between Papakura and Ōtāhuhu to Britomart via the Eastern Line, but on a reduced frequency.
  • Due to speed restrictions on the line, journey times will significantly increase.

Western Line

  • Services will operate between Britomart and New Lynn and will run at a 20 to 30-minute frequency.
  • Customers will need to change trains to travel between New Lynn and Swanson. Services will run at a 30 to 40-minute frequency and longer journey times due to multiple speed restrictions along the track.
  • A rail replacement bus service will also be operating between New Lynn and Swanson as an alternative option for customers.
  • Additional speed restrictions will be in place between Newmarket and Britomart due to a slip at Parnell. A rail replacement service will be operating between Newmarket and Britomart as an alternative option for customers.

Rail Network Rebuild

  • Rail replacement services are still operating on the Onehunga Line and between Newmarket and Otahuhu on the Southern Line. Services will continue to run to the timetable but may be impacted by road closures, flooding and increased traffic.

Public transport situation report

Train

  • No train services are running today or tomorrow (Monday) because of this weekend’s KiwiRail and City Rail Link rail network closure.
  • Ambassadors are at the rail bus stops at Britomart, Newmarket and Otahuhu assisting customers.
  • Rail Bus Replacements are operating on all lines.

Bus

  • Normal bus operations are expected today, with services operating usual Sunday timetables, noting that there are many detours of routes still in place due to road closures that will add extra travel time and cause some services to be operating later than timetabled.
  • Services to Warkworth have resumed now that SH1 from Puhoi to Warkworth has reopened.

Ferry

  • All ferry services except Rakino are operating as usual today, with trips on the Hobsonville/Beach Haven route having resumed this morning. Ferries are busier than expected this morning.
  • The Majestic Princess cruise ship is docked at Princes Wharf and is expected to leave Auckland at 1805. Vessels of this size take some time to leave the pier and the ship’s departure may impact some ferry movements to/from the Downtown Ferry Terminal this evening.

Road network situation report

  • There are currently 38 roads closed across the Auckland region, with lanes closed on 17 roads. For the latest list of road closures please see the AT website.
  • The following roads/issues are our current key areas of focus:
    • A section of Great North Road (near the Waterview Tunnel) is closed due to land instability. Geotechnical engineers have made an assessment and the road will be partially reopened using limited lanes this evening. Public transport will continue to be diverted for now.
    • The South Eastern Highway SEART tunnel has been pumped and stranded cars are being towed. We’re expecting to reopen the highway this evening
    • Ahuroa Road (Puhoi) remains closed – the road has been cleared of debris however the road cannot be opened at this stage due to the road slumping.