AT passenger train services on Auckland’s Western Line will be running at a reduced timetable from 12 October while KiwiRail, the track owner and maintainer, urgently investigates a subsidence issue along the line.

From 12 October morning only a single track will be operational as a precaution. Train services will need to operate every 30 minutes between Swanson and New Lynn, with services between New Lynn and Britomart running every 20 minutes. Passengers travelling through New Lynn in either direction will need to transfer between trains at New Lynn. Customer ambassadors will be on site to assist passengers.

Auckland Transport is working closely with KiwiRail and our train operator Auckland One Rail to minimise the disruption to passengers.

We appreciate that these changes will be frustrating for our passengers, but it’s important that KiwiRail is able to take the necessary steps to address this issue, keep our passengers safe and fix the issue as quickly as possible.

Subsidence discovered during a routine inspection

KiwiRail staff working on a routine inspection of the Western Line on Monday first discovered the subsidence issue when they found movement in an overhead electric pole.

To ensure the safety of passengers and staff, speed at this location was reduced to 25km/h while preliminary investigations were conducted. These investigations continued on 11 October and have confirmed there appears to be subsidence under the track.

KiwiRail is undertaking ground investigations to confirm how soon work can be completed to allow train services to resume to normal service.

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