Talks go off the rails

Auckland is bracing for a rail strike that will see an additional 35,000 commuters added to rush-hour traffic today. Trains will not be operating between 2am today and 2am tomorrow. The Rail and Maritime Transport Union has called the strike in protest, after French-owned train operator Transdev refused to drop plans to introduce driver-only trains. At the moment, all commuter trains in Auckland have a uniformed staff member working alongside the driver to keep passengers safe. Auckland Transport said it had not been given enough notice to bring extra buses in from outside the city.