From this afternoon, the Hamilton-Auckland train service Te Huia will no longer be travelling to The Strand in Parnell, and will instead be stopping at Papakura.

This follows a requirement from the rail regulator Waka Kotahi.

“KiwiRail takes all safety incidents seriously, and we are treating this situation with the highest priority,” says KiwiRail’s Executive General Manager Operations Paul Ashton.

“We realise the disruption this may cause for our passengers and we apologise to them and to Waikato Regional Council.

“For the rest of this week, there will be bus replacements between The Strand, Puhinui and Papakura, and customers will not be charged for this bus replacement service.

“Next week, we will be running the service to Papakura. Customers will then need to connect into an Auckland Transport service using a HOP Card to continue, as they did when Te Huia first launched in April 2021.”

Waka Kotahi today (Tuesday) said it is requiring KiwiRail to install European Train Control System (ETCS) technology on Te Huia if it is to operate within the Auckland metropolitan network.

ETCS is a predictive safety system used by Auckland metropolitan trains to slow trains approaching a red signal. Currently, it operates only on Auckland Transport trains, and only in the Auckland Metro area.

Waka Kotahi has imposed the restriction following an incident in the Auckland Metro Network three weeks ago that saw Te Huia pass a stop signal near Penrose. There was also a minor incident yesterday where Te Huia, which was not carrying passengers at the time, overran a signal just north of Hamilton. There were no other train movements in this area, and it was outside the Auckland metro region.

Mr Ashton says that immediately following the incident three weeks ago, KiwiRail commenced an investigation into the incident, which is nearing completion. An Electronic Train Protection (ETP) system on Te Huia has now been installed.

“ETP, though different from ETCS, offers an additional level of protection when Te Huia is in the Auckland metro network. ETP will activate the train’s braking system when it passes a red signal in Auckland.

“Waka Kotahi has said today it wants ETCS installed in Te Huia, for operations in the Auckland metro network, which we plan to do in due course. However, it will take more than 12 months to design, install and test ETCS on Te Huia’s locomotives.”

KiwiRail has an approved safety case for running Te Huia and we are working closely with the rail regulator to resolve their concerns.

Waikato Regional Councillor and Deputy Chair of the Future Proof Public Transport Subcommittee Angela Strange says “Today’s outcome is bitterly disappointing considering recently released performance results that showed Te Huia was on track to meet two-year patronage targets. Figures for April 2023 showed an average of 321 passengers each weekday, reaching the year two one-way demand goal of 320 passengers per weekday.

“Adding services and enhancements has always been part of our plan to scale up patronage over time. It’s extremely frustrating that we are now back to stopping the service in Papakura. We recognise that this will impact our loyal passengers who rely on this service and those planning to try it for the first time.”

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