New Hamilton – Auckland commuter train to begin in August

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freitasm

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#268320 12-Mar-2020 12:59

Just received:

The new Hamilton – Auckland passenger train will start running on 3 August, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today.

The Te Huia service will consist of two morning trains from Hamilton, with two return evening trains each week day and a single return train on Saturday.

“As the Waikato and Auckland grow closer together, this new passenger train will become a crucial connection between these two major centres.

“It will allow up to 300 people to get to and from Auckland each day, helping reduce congestion on our highways and transport emissions.

“Not only will it take the stress out of driving, the carriages will be comfortable and equipped with Wi-Fi, which will allow passengers to use the two-hour, twenty-minute travel time productively.”

Phil Twyford said the new service is part of a wider Government vision to enable development along the Hamilton-Auckland growth corridor and connect New Zealand’s fastest growing job hubs.

“The South Auckland/North Waikato area is growing and it’s important that we are thinking about the big picture and develop the right infrastructure to unlock that growth.

“Our Government is already investing $618 million to electrify the rail lines in South Auckland out to Pukekohe and build railway stations in Drury, which will support a whole new future town there.

“The Ministry of Transport also has work underway to investigate options for rapid rail between Hamilton and Auckland,” Phil Twyford said.

The Hamilton – Auckland services has received funding through the NZ Transport Agency for five years. Over that period the service will be assessed to see where improvements can be made.

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#2436793 12-Mar-2020 13:21

"two-hour, twenty-minute travel time"?

I really hope that is the return travel time. If not, taking more than double the time of travel by car will be a major turn-off, even considering time for parking, etc.

myopinion

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#2436795 12-Mar-2020 13:27

Yeah I thought 2 hours 20 sounded like a lot but then realised its not. Try driving from Hamilton to central Auckland during the week in the morning and its going to be around the same or longer (Google maps says around 2:40 driving When leaving at 6:30 am which is when the train is scheduled).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12316012

wellygary

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#2436802 12-Mar-2020 13:34

Gurezaemon:

"two-hour, twenty-minute travel time"?

I really hope that is the return travel time. If not, taking more than double the time of travel by car will be a major turn-off, even considering time for parking, etc.

Nope that time is correct

its 80-90 minutes from the Waikato-Papakura (depending on where you get on) + then 50 minutes on a regular Auckland train from Papakura-Britomart.....

Gurezaemon

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#2436833 12-Mar-2020 14:12

myopinion:

Yeah I thought 2 hours 20 sounded like a lot but then realised its not. Try driving from Hamilton to central Auckland during the week in the morning and its going to be around the same or longer (Google maps says around 2:40 driving When leaving at 6:30 am which is when the train is scheduled).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12316012

Wow. I didn't realize it took that long. My recollections of very empty roads are, after all, from the early 90s...

vexxxboy

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#2436836 12-Mar-2020 14:18

it seems a lot of time and money to get 300 people to Auckland and back

Common sense is not as common as you think.

graham007

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#2436855 12-Mar-2020 14:31

its a step in the positive direction given the population and density

but its 2020 and we have to be realistic and learn from whats available in EU , Japan , china to help address local issues

bringing a fast train would have helped heaps, imagine one way being 30 min - now that would actually mean people could think of moving to hamilton , cheaper houses, more development in nearby regions, more business will do well etc....

wellygary

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#2436867 12-Mar-2020 14:41

graham007:

bringing a fast train would have helped heaps, imagine one way being 30 min - now that would actually mean people could think of moving to hamilton , cheaper houses, more development in nearby regions, more business will do well etc....

Hamilton to Auckland is approx. 110km, there is no way that's a 30 min trip with any current Kiwirail infrastructure, its would require billions of retracking and full grade separation....

Japan run DMUs @130km/h on NZ sized narrow gauge, so a travel time of 60 mins (with a few stops) is certainly possible, but it would still require lots of investment ( especially in Auckland where there is currently major rail congestion)

dt

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#2436934 12-Mar-2020 15:06

2 hr 20.. at least you could sleep on it 🤣

takes me 45 - 60 mins on a bad day to get from aucklands north shore to central auckland !

really enjoyed taking high speed rail around China <60 mins travelling to cities over 200 kilometres away @ 50 rmb a pop with food, drinks, charging facilities and toilets on board.. awesome

graham007

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#2436945 12-Mar-2020 15:11

i agree, i did some basic number crunching and used the shanghai maglev's 267 miles per hour build cost, and looks like the route would cost 4-5billion $ and given the low population , i dont think there would be return on investment from tax payer point of view.

rogercruse

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#2436987 12-Mar-2020 15:52

Sounds like another KiwiBuild style success for Labour and "failure Phil".

mudguard

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#2436991 12-Mar-2020 16:00

It has to start somewhere. My partner has recently moved in with me, I'd put off asking her because her commute to work in the Auckland CBD has gone from 20m on a bike, to 1.5hrs in the car. She is about to start using the ferry, which will take a similar time, but she'll be able to almost 1.5hrs work remotely while she's on it, so shorten her actual work day.

On another note, I wonder how feasible a subway system would be in Auckland?

sbiddle

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#2437018 12-Mar-2020 16:29

graham007:

i agree, i did some basic number crunching and used the shanghai maglev's 267 miles per hour build cost, and looks like the route would cost 4-5billion $ and given the low population , i dont think there would be return on investment from tax payer point of view.

High Speed rail isn't stacking up anywhere in the world if you want a financial return unless you have massive populations (China, Japan). The UK have finally committed to HS2 despite the costs sky rocketing, and both the US and Australia can't build a business case for tracks simply because of the cost.

The cost between Hamilton and Auckland apparently sits at an estimated NZ$60-70 million per km for the 140km route. When you look at the population of both cities I just don't know how you'd ever get any more than a few thousand people in each direction per day even with regular high speed rail.

Technofreak

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#2437035 12-Mar-2020 16:49

wellygary:

Gurezaemon:

"two-hour, twenty-minute travel time"?

I really hope that is the return travel time. If not, taking more than double the time of travel by car will be a major turn-off, even considering time for parking, etc.

Nope that time is correct

its 80-90 minutes from the Waikato-Papakura (depending on where you get on) + then 50 minutes on a regular Auckland train from Papakura-Britomart.....

Yeah, Nah. Even if it went at a time that worked for me I wouldn't bother. I was door to door (Chartwell to Auckland airport) in less than 85 min before the Longswamp and Huntly sections of the expressway were opened. I haven't been at work for a couple of weeks but now with the Huntly section opened and Longswamp all but finished if it isn't already I'm expecting around 70 minutes. Why would I drive to the station have to find a park walk to the platform then change trains or to a bus at Papakura to get to my destination. No thanks.

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SATTV

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#2437052 12-Mar-2020 17:14

This has been tried at least twice before and failed, I expect this to fail again to be honest.

They would have been better off putting on luxury busses that were all electric or Hybrid ( they do exist ), ones with toilets, wifi and leg room to get numbers up over the next 5 / 10 / 15 year until a train service is warranted to go from Hamilton to Papakura where they change to get the train if needed.

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mudguard

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#2437055 12-Mar-2020 17:29

SATTV:

They would have been better off putting on luxury busses that were all electric or Hybrid ( they do exist ), ones with toilets, wifi and leg room to get numbers up over the next 5 / 10 / 15 year until a train service is warranted to go from Hamilton to Papakura where they change to get the train if needed.

But surely there is a tipping point. How much worse does the Southern have to get before people say, I'll take the train. Especially if you had a job that you could say knock off four hours of work on the actual commute, then attend for four hours and then go home?

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