Auckland's massive City Rail Link project will open with fewer rush hour trains than were trialled, raising questions about whether the $4.4 billion infrastructure investment will deliver the promised capacity improvements that justified years of disruption.
Auckland Transport will operate a "temporary transitional timetable" maintaining six trains per hour instead of the eight tested in January, 1News reports. The reduced frequency addresses "pressure points on the existing rail network" at critical train junctions.
Mate, after years of disruption and billions spent, Auckland's flagship transport project is launching with less service than it tested. This encapsulates the gap between New Zealand's infrastructure ambitions and delivery reality—and the political consequences when major projects underdeliver.
The City Rail Link has been Auckland's defining infrastructure project for over a decade. The 3.45km twin tunnels under the city center were supposed to transform Auckland's rail network, dramatically increasing capacity and making public transport a viable alternative to driving.
The $4.4 billion price tag made it one of New Zealand's most expensive infrastructure projects ever. That investment was justified by promises of dramatically improved service—more trains, more frequently, connecting the eastern and western lines through the city center.
The January trials were meant to demonstrate that improvement. Eight trains per hour during peak times represented a significant increase over the current six, showing the network could handle higher frequencies once the tunnels opened.
Except now they're not actually implementing that increase. AT discovered "pressure points" at train junctions that prevent running the higher frequency safely. So the tunnels will open with the same six trains per hour Aucklanders get now.
