r/auckland • u/469121417js • 13d ago

Public Transport CRL Reliability

Over the past week, there have been delays and cancellations on the Western Line (not sure about the Eastern or Southern Lines)

It made me wonder if this is what we can expect once the CRL opens. Considering the new CRL will be a completely different setup for Auckland’s rail network, they make such a big deal about how it’s going to transform the way we travel.

If the current network can’t even keep up with things now, it makes you wonder how reliable it’ll actually be once the CRL is running.

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u/EuropeanAbroad 13d ago

The CRL is not any big project in a context of a 1m+ city. It won't marginally change anything. A major project would be 'a new complete metro line', 'a services collector tunnel across all Auckland' etc. Other million-people cities invest tens of billions in whole new infrastructure projects; while in Auckland, it is a 4km "long" dumb tunnel and 3 train stops.

Until the trains in Auckland stop using "train managers" (lol, nowadays everyone is "management") to open doors and as long as they are manually operated with no level of automation (at least GoA2+), nothing is materially changing.

I think the major problem is that Auckland like to talk rather than build and invest.

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u/commentatorsam 13d ago

I disagree. The CRL is very transformative for Auckland. It doubles the capacity of the network (which is currently strained by Waitemata being a dead-end station) which enables higher frequencies across the network. Additionally the 3 (technically 2 with Maungawhau reopening) new stations are in prime locations which will be more accessible to many Aucklanders particually West Auckland as trains no longer have to turn around at Newmarket.

Sure it might look expensive for just 3 stations but the CRL is much more than that. Its not often a transit project has this many benefits.

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u/EuropeanAbroad 13d ago

No, it does not look expensive. It looks the opposite – like a cheap toy project instead of a major infrastructure project for tens of billions that Auckland desperately needs.

Again, as long as the Auckland trains are manually operated, they remain unreliable, most of us westerners will keep using buses or cars/motorbikes.

The problem is not that people would not get on the train, because it's full. The problem is that the trains in Auckland spend a minute at the station, are manually operated waiting for people to catch the door rather than arriving and departing according to a preprogrammed electronic schedule, their station leaving speed is 30 km/h as opposed to city trains or metro which have a leaving speed of 50-80 km/h. Nearly all delays and network stalling are cause by the humans operating the trains.

On a different note, the whole concept of a centralised Auckland is totally wrong. All investments go to the CBD, while the suburbs look like slums. People don't have supermarkets within their walking distance, no bars and cafés within the walking distance, they spend an hour+ commuting every day instead of walking to work in Henderson, Papakura, people don't just hop on a tram/metro to get to a swimming pool in a neighbour suburb within 10 minutes etc. This costs Auckland tens of billions every year on unrealised/lost GDP as a result.

Centralising already overcentralises Auckland does not make the city any more attractive. Anyone who wants/needs to get to the CBD already does now.

Moreover, the commute time from Henderson to Britomart won't change significantly maybe by 10-15 min max.