JOINT MEDIA RELEASE:
Auckland Regional Council and Auckland Regional Transport Authority
March 6th, 2007

ARC, ARTA call for report from ONTRACK

Chairman of the Auckland Regional Council (ARC), Michael Lee and Chair of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA), Brian Roche have called for a report from national rail agency ONTRACK to explain the disruption caused yesterday to passengers travelling on Auckland’s rail network.

Mr Roche says, “ARTA is following up with ONTRACK to understand the events which occurred yesterday and to ensure that our passengers are not faced with this level of disruption again.

Mr Lee says, “ The situation we faced yesterday only serves to reinforce the fact that Auckland has faced years of neglect and lack of investment in our rail network.

“ Thankfully, with financial support from central government, work is progressing to bring our network into the 21st century.
“This includes double tracking the western line and redeveloping Newmarket train station to have the ability to handle more services, as opposed to being faced with operating a single track”, says Mr Lee.

Both Mr Lee and Mr Roche reinforced that electrification was a key component of a modern rail network and that a decision needed to be made soon for Auckland.

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