Monday, 10 August 2015

Franklin revolts over electrification delay

Frustrated Franklin residents have responded strongly to a petition to bring forward electrification to Pukekohe.

Pukekohe resident Niko Kloeten launched the online petition on Change.org on Friday, after it emerged that electrification may not be completed for another 15 years.

By Sunday evening the petition had passed 500 supporters, many of them commenting about the inconvenience the switch to electric trains out to Papakura had caused.

Kloeten, a public relations consultant who commutes by train to his job in the central city, says the petition was a “spur of the moment idea” that attracted a huge response.

Auckland Council recently signalled that electrification, which has an estimated cost of $140 million, would not happen until between 2022 and 2031.

“It is simply unacceptable to wait that long,” says Kloeten, who is calling on the council and the government to work together to find a solution.

“The Wesley College development will see up to 3500 new homes built at Paerata by 2021, while as many as 7600 extra houses are planned for Pukekohe by 2026,” he says.

“Electrification is essential for expanding the capacity of the transport system to support this growth, which would put immense pressure on the existing network. Waiting until after the Wesley College development, and possibly even Pukekohe, is not good enough.”

Kloeten, who now drives to the Papakura station every morning, says the electrification issue shows many Franklin residents feel they are “second class citizens” under the Auckland Council super city structure.

Software developer Rob Ford, who moved from Auckland to Pukekohe with his family a year ago, says the Pukekohe trains have been a nightmare since electric trains started running to Papakura.

“We moved here because we could afford to buy a house, and we thought getting to work by train would be convenient, but we were wrong,” he says.

“We are now looking at buying a second car, a huge expense for us, so that we can both drive to Papakura each day. I imagine many people are in similar situations.”

Kloeten has promised further action on electrification, including creating a hard copy of the petition. He is aiming to collect at least 15,000 signatures.

“The people of Franklin are not opposed to growth as long as we get the right infrastructure, and electrification should be the number one priority.”

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