Wayne Brown says the meeting he called over cancellations and delays on Auckland's rail network went "surprisingly well". Photo: Glenda Wakeham
Auckland's mayor says a meeting with key transport heads over dozens of cancellations to the city's public transport network went surprisingly well and was productive.
Auckland commuters have faced train delays and cancellations for the last three days with the Western, Southern and Eastern line train services affected.
On Monday, thousands of Auckland commuters were hit by the cancellations. Auckland Transport said 88 trains were cancelled across its commuter network due to a range of problems, including the heat.
On Tuesday afternoon, Auckland Transport said trains on all lines were running at "reduced frequencies" because of KiwiRail train speed restrictions and train services were cancelled.
Wayne Brown called today's meeting, demanding answers for what he called the 'omnishambles'.
It was attended by Auckland Transport, Kiwirail, Auckland One Rail and a representative for the Minister of Transport.
A range of issues that have been affecting passenger rail services were discussed including heat restrictions, temporary speed restrictions, delays caused by a transition to a new signalling system at Britomart for the City Rail Link, multiple point failures, staff shortages, and poor communication to customers.
Brown said he had detailed nine expectations, including "an aggressive plan to fix" the heat-affected tracks, resolving crew shortages, and to work on reducing delays caused by the new signalling system at Britomart.
He said he also asked agencies to look at whether temporary timetable adjustments were needed so Aucklanders could have confidence in transport timetables.
A joint Auckland Rail Operation Centre would be opened on 14 March with all parties involved in running the Auckland rail network located there, to ensure greater cooperation, Brown said.
All those at the meeting agreed to improve communication to customers and were committed to putting the customer first by making continuous improvement and changes as necessary, he said.
"It went surprisingly well, I have detailed my expectations and we will be hauling them in again in a week's time to make sure things are being fixed. I thank Aucklanders for their patience and I look forward to things improving, fast," Brown said in a statement.
