20 Viaduct Harbour Avenue Auckland 1010
Private Bag 92250, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Ph 09 355 3553
Fax 09 355 3550
1 March 2022
Arthur Johnson
[FYI request #18392 email]
Kia ora Arthur,
The information you requested - CAS-503018-J4N2G3
Thank you for your request for information dated 02 February about the Auckland Rapid Transit Plan
(ARTP) and its investigation of rapid transit alignments in the city centre.
Auckland Transport (AT) has been collaborating on the development of the ARTP with Auckland
Council and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency. There are four main stages of this plan –
the first three stages have been completed and the fourth stage, which looks at the entire network,
is now underway. The fourth stage was awaiting the critical input of the Government’s decision on
the next steps for the City Centre to Māngere corridor.
Given the project is still underway, there is no draft plan available to provide you to satisfy your
specific request. Your request seeking the draft document is refused under section 17e of the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA), as Auckland Transport (AT) does
not hold the information. A summary document of the first three stages is available, however, which
includes the information on potential city centre alignments that you have mentioned. We have
attached this summary document, as we believe the information it contains should satisfy your
substantive request. Note that some information in this document, particularly regarding costs, is
out-of-date and/or superseded by the work done as part of the Auckland Light Rail (ALR) project.
The eight scenarios developed were conceptual only. They were conceived as viable scenarios, but
not necessarily realistic ones. The work found that three realistic options for the city centre: a three-
line (surface) light rail network for new corridors to the city centre; a three-line (tunnelled) light rail
or metro network; or a combination of surface and tunnelled corridors. It recommended that the
ALR Establishment Unit use this as the basis for consideration of wider network implications.
Ultimately, the ALR Unit has recommended a system similar to the ARTP’s Scenario 3 for the city
centre’s integration. Further work will now be done on the exact form of this tunnel and the network
integration it enables as part of a Detailed Business Case for ALR.
The final stage of the ARTP is expected to be completed by mid-2022. The full plan is therefore
expected to be publicly released later this year. As other rapid transit projects, including the next
phase of the ALR project proceed, the ARTP will be updated in future to reflect their findings.
aucklandtransport.govt.nz
We trust this information satisfies your request for information. Should you believe that we have not
responded appropriately to your request, you are able to make a complaint to the Office of the
Ombudsman in accordance with section 27(3) of the LGOIMA Act, and seek an investigation and
review in regard to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Hamish Bunn
Group Manager Investment, Planning & Policy
Encl: Auckland Rapid Transit Plan – Stages 1-3 Summary Report.pdf
