All aboard: New train operator talks big
Wellington’s new train operator is talking big things for its first day of operation in July, including longer trains and new, smarter uniforms for staff.
Transdev Wellington told Greater Wellington Regional Council’s regional transport committee yesterday that on July 3 train users would instantly notice there was a new company in charge.
Chief operating officer Alan Bannister said that, because of the new Matangi trains, the company had plenty of carriages so it would be looking at putting on longer trains in rush hour.
He did not go into detail which lines they would run on, or when they would be running. ‘‘No-one wants to be running empty trains, but where we can run longer trains we will,’’ Bannister told the meeting, made up of mayors and councillors from the wider region.
‘‘We will make sure we are putting the resources where they are needed because we have lots of trains and lots of staff, so we can do it.’’
That news would be a relief for the 15,000 morning commuters into Wellington, who often have to jam into packed carriages.
Last year the council selected Transdev Australasia, instead of the KiwiRail-owned Tranz Metro, as its preferred operator for the passenger rail network that services Wellington, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Kapiti and Wairarapa.
Transdev is a global transport giant, which runs Auckland’s passenger trains as well as transport services in Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific.
In Australia and New Zealand it employs about 5700 staff and runs more than 131 million passenger journeys on buses, trains and ferries.
The Wellington contract will partner it with Korean company Hyundai Rotem, which built the city’s electric Matangi trains.
Forty days out from when it takes over, Bannister said the company was on track to start on time and well. It had retained 97 per cent of about 400 KiwiRail staff and would create a larger safety team to make sure everything ran according to best practice. There would be work done on the timetable, with the potential for more frequent peak-hour trains, better and faster customer service and smarter staff, with better uniforms and new smartphones. Some staff may also be equipped with body CCTV, which was trialled in Auckland in 2014, to reduce fare evasion and improve train security. It would also investigate putting on more trains for special events, such as next year’s British and Irish Lions tour, installing wi-fi in carriages and replacing recorded loudspeaker announcements with a miked staff member on the platforms. Transdev was also outfitting a new control centre behind the ticket booths at Wellington railway station, and would move the rail monitoring centre from Johnsonville into Wellington.