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Deputy Leader of the House

 

Private Bag 18041 |Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand

Office phone: +64 4 817 8847 | Email: [4][email address]

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4. mailto:[Michael Wood request email]

Dear Mr Bainbridge

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request, received on 4 October 2022, in which you requested the following information:

I am incredibly disappointed to read the announcement on the forthcoming extended closures of the Auckland rail network for extensive rebuild work. While I understand this is the result of decades of neglect, there remains hard questions to be asked about the impacts of this shutdown.

1: When was the Minister first advised of the need for such extensive closures? From various reporting it seems AT/Kiwirail have been working on this for 7 months, with Auckland councillors only advised this week.

2: Without detailed descriptions of work required for certain sections, the releases imply foundation work is also required on some fairly new sections of line, including Manukau branch which is only a decade old and the Western line which was largely replaced when double tracking was completed in the mid 2000's. Is this indeed the case, and what questions are being asked of Kiwirail regarding the quality of work performed on those sections and why they need replacement so soon.

3: It's claimed this work will result in improved reliability and running times. Given our trains are already slower than international comparisons and indeed, still not achieving the running times specified during the CAF EMU purchase, what modelling do you have on the expected timetable improvements after completion?

4: You may recall that back in 2013 in Wellington the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa lines were closed for a week after a major storm washed out the sea wall and left tracks dangling over the harbour. The economic impact of that line being closed for just a week was estimated at $12-43 million due to the increased travel times caused by people switching to driving. Taking out the physical cost of the repair works, the disruption was estimated to cost about $1.3 million per day. What modelling has been performed on the economic impact of these shutdowns? As many passengers will have no choice but to switch to driving, the economic impact from increased congestion alone must be significant, and presumably based on the Wellington numbers, the total cost of impact must be in the billions.

5: Given the above economic impact, what consideration has been given to further investment in speeding up work, and what consideration has been given to rapidly implementing alternate mode options like bus priority and protected cycle infrastructure alongside the shutdown routes?

I'll leave it there for now, but reiterate that this is yet another incredibly damaging event for public confidence in Auckland public transit, on the back of Covid disruption, the total lack of progress on Light Rail and the incredibly over-specified and wasteful tunneled "light metro" option being pushed which will suck up a massive amount of transport spending for decades to come, and the incredibly disappointing North Western "interim busway" which doesn't even offer seats at the motley assortment of exposed bus shelters users are expected to use. This shutdown will result in permanent mode shift away from transit back in to cars for many users and should be viewed as totally unacceptable as it stands.

Your request will be answered within the provisions of the Official Information Act.

Ngā mihi
Elena

Elena Scheule
Pou Hekeretari Matua | Senior Private Secretary
Te Tari o te Minita a Michael Wood | Office of Hon Michael Wood
Te Minita o Te Manene | Te Manatū Waka | Ngā Whanaungatanga Wāhi Mahi me te Haumaru
Minister of Immigration | Minister of Transport | Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety
Nama Waea: 04-817-8849 | Waea Pūkoro: 021-520-215
EW5.1 Right |Private Bag 18041|Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 |New Zealand

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Tēnā koe,

 

Thank you for your email of 04 October 2022 requesting information under
the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

The information requested is believed to be more closely connected with
the functions of KiwiRail. The request is therefore being transferred to
them for a response under Section 14(b)(ii) of the Act.

 

KiwiRail will contact you in due course regarding this request.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Office of Hon Michael Wood

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety | Minister of Transport |
Minister of Immigration

Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand

Office Phone: +64 4 817 8731      Email: [1][email address]

 

 

 

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Good afternoon Kris

 

A quick email to confirm we have received the transfer of your OIA
regarding the Auckland Network from Minister Wood’s Office, and will
respond in due course.

 

Kind regards

 

Dave

 

Dave Allard  | Senior Government Relations Advisor

DDI: 027 201 8182
Level 4, Wellington Railway Station, Bunny Street, Wellington 6011 | PO
Box 593, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

[1]Description: Description: cid:image001.png@01D46098.E77643D0

[2]www.kiwirail.co.nz

 

References

Visible links
2. http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/

Good afternoon Kris

 

Please find our response below.

 

I refer to your request dated 10 October 2022, transferred to KiwiRail
from Minister Wood’s Office under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), asking for information on the Auckland Network rebuild.

Please note the documents that support this request will soon be publicly
released on the KiwiRail website. The link to the documents can be found
here - Publications | KiwiRail

 

As background to the recent announcement, while there have been a number
of rail improvement projects in Auckland over the last few decades - such
as double tracking the Western Line, construction of the Onehunga and
Manukau Lines, station rebuilds, new signalling, electrifying the network
and new trains - the resulting growth in rail services in Auckland was not
matched with funding for ongoing maintenance.

 

This resulted in a reactive approach to maintenance and an increasing
number of temporary speed restrictions being put on parts of the network,
to ensure services could continue to operate safely.

 

Due to the age of the Auckland network and service growth, KiwiRail has
known formation on the Auckland network needed replacing at some point,
for some time. As a general rule, 60-70% of top faults (e.g. with rail or
sleepers) are actually due to weaknesses in the formation, often caused by
poor drainage.

 

The City Rail Link (CRL) became the impetus for doing this work and the
2018 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, which included a
‘Transitional Rail’ activity class, provided a clear pathway for Waka
Kotahi to fund the needed renewals in Auckland.

 

That year KiwiRail and Auckland Transport (AT) commissioned a business
case for the renewals work, which was submitted to Waka Kotahi in 2019.
Funding was allocated in early 2020.

 

Work that involves essentially removing and replacing a rail line requires
significant planning, design and scheduling. KiwiRail was at the start of
this work when tiny cracks were discovered on rail lines in Auckland,
caused by rolling contact fatigue between steel train wheels and steel
tracks.

 

Emergency works to replace or repair damaged rail took precedence and was
carried out over an eight-month period in 2020/21.

This work had to be done urgently so that trains could continue running
safely. Undertaking the formation replacement work in 2020/21 would have
required rail lines to be closed for longer.

 

KiwiRail had not done sufficient planning to do the work at the time.

 

Work planning the broader renewals then resumed, and detailed discussions
with Auckland Transport about how to schedule the bulk of the Rail Network
Rebuild started in the second half of 2021.

 

It is important to note that potential timings to complete the Rail
Network Rebuild have changed as project planning developed.

 

KiwiRail advised our Ministers of the need for the work in late 2021 and
Ministers were kept informed of ongoing progress. Once a potential
schedule was sufficiently progressed, Auckland’s Mayor was advised of the
work in mid-2022.

 

The approach to carrying out the bulk of the Rail Network Rebuild,
including confirming the dates of the first two stages, was finalised in
September 2022.

 

AT’s full Board were made aware of the final approach on 29 September
2022; the Mayor and the Minister were advised of the outcome on, 30
September 2022; and the Rail Network Rebuild schedule was publicly
announced 3 October 2022.

 

Background information was sent to Auckland City councillors, community
board members, MPs and other stakeholders on the day of the public
announcement.

 

KiwiRail and Auckland Transport’s aim was to inform the public about the
schedule of work as quickly as possible after it was approved, and the
Minister and Mayor advised.

 

The focus was on ensuring enough time before the first stage of work
commenced, for commuters to be aware of the upcoming disruption and plan
transport alternatives.

 

It’s worth noting that the project, known as Rail Network Growth Impact
Management (RNGIM), is included in KiwiRail’s inaugural multi-year
planning document – the Rail Network Investment Programme, which has been
publicly available on our website since it was released in 2021.

 

On 3 October 2022, KiwiRail and AT announced the indicative schedule of
the main works.

 

I trust this answers your query, but any further questions please get in
touch.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by calling free-phone 0800 802 602.

 

Kind regards

Dave

 

Dave Allard  | Senior Government Relations Advisor

DDI: 027 201 8182
Level 4, Wellington Railway Station, Bunny Street, Wellington 6011 | PO
Box 593, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

[1]Description: Description: cid:image001.png@01D46098.E77643D0

[2]www.kiwirail.co.nz

 

From: M Wood (MIN) <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 10 October 2022 3:01 pm
To: '[FOI #20749 email]'
<[FOI #20749 email]>
Subject: RE: OIA22-532 Official Information request - OIA request on
Kiwirail Auckland Rail Network Rebuild

 

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Tçnâ koe,

 

Thank you for your email of 04 October 2022 requesting information under
the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

The information requested is believed to be more closely connected with
the functions of KiwiRail. The request is therefore being transferred to
them for a response under Section 14(b)(ii) of the Act.

 

KiwiRail will contact you in due course regarding this request.

 

Ngâ mihi,

 

Office of Hon Michael Wood

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety | Minister of Transport |
Minister of Immigration

Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand

Office Phone: +64 4 817 8731 Email: [3][email address]

 

 

 

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