Light rail project back on track

The Herald understands it will be six to eight years before light rail is up and running in Auckland.

Woodhouse said the “fresh start” on light rail amounted to another business case after wasting four years on the project and spending $15 million on a business case.

“Today’s announcement was ridiculous. After four years there is still no business case. No funding. No route. No idea of who will build the project or how they will build the project. No consents. No engagement. Nothing,” he said.

The Greens, however, welcomed the announcement with the establishment unit to engage with Aucklanders on works for them.

Transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter said street-level light rail is the party’s preferred option because it can deliver the benefits of a more expensive metro system at lower cost.

“Street-level light rail is also more easily accessible for people with mobility issues and avoids the significant property purchases and disruption that comes with tunnelling and building underground stations.

“With street-level light rail, we estimate there could be a train every four minutes at peak times, taking 40 minutes from Queen St to the airport.

“Three-quarters of the journey would be separated from roads, allowing speeds of up to 100km/h, but obviously slower though suburban centres,” she said.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff welcomed the Government signalling decisive steps to get light rail back on track for the city. “I welcome also the Government’s inclusion of Auckland Council and the community as key partners in the project, which is fully funded by central Government.

“The Government has also indicated that it will be listening carefully to the views of the Auckland community and other stakeholders, and I commend this collaborative approach,” he said.

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said “involving Auckland in this major project is vital and something we have been asking for”.

“Rapid transit is needed to ease congestion and support our rapidly growing city but the light rail project announced today must learn lessons from the City Rail Link.

“Putting in a place a solution to address the severe impact on businesses impacted by City Rail Link construction will be a fundamental element in getting the light rail project right,” she said.

Wood said he was very conscious of business disruption caused by construction of the City Rail Link.

“It is my view we have to deal with that issue [for light rail] as part of the indicative business case process,” he said.

A spokesman for the Super Fund — which is no longer involved in the public delivery project — said: “We acknowledge the Government’s decision to establish a new unit to deliver the light rail project.

“Last year NZ Infra put forward a world-class, innovative and fully funded proposal to deliver urban transformation facilitated by light rail from Auckland’s city centre to Ma¯ngere and the airport.

“While we won’t be involved in delivering this project, NZ Super Fund remains open to exploring options for applying our investment approach to other projects to help New Zealand bridge its infrastructure deficit,” the spokesman said.