Mayor Wayne Brown and his deputy have expressed relief at a funding lifeline of more than $200 million in Budget 2024 for Auckland’s failing rail network - which has been beset by persistent track maintenance issues and systems errors. 

While new budget transport funding was dominated by almost $2 billion in highway and roading investment, the dire state of Auckland and Wellington’s train networks were also given funding for maintenance. 

In total, $266.9m has been announced to upgrade and maintain metro rail in Auckland and Wellington. 

Brown offered a brief endorsement of the funding. 

“Well, fixing rail is obviously needed and is of value… I support being able to get the best out of the City Rail Link [CRL],” he said when questioned about the budget. 

The mayor had been highly critical of Auckland Transport, KiwiRail and One Rail who oversee Auckland’s train services after the network completely shut down in February multiple times due to tracks overheating and human error, causing mass delays. 

Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson was also pleased at the rail infrastructure assistance. 

“The additional money from the Government for the rail network rebuild and metro maintenance is very welcome,” Simpson said. 

“The Auckland rail network was originally not designed for the kind of metro frequency which we have seen in recent years and will intensify more after CRL opens. Rail is an integral part of our transport network and takes significant pressure off our roads. So I am very supportive of any extra assistance the government is providing to maximise the investments we and the government have already made.” 

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Deputy Mayor of Auckland Desley Simpson. Photo / Jason Oxenham. 

The Budget 2024 rail funding will include $159.2m to complete a major upgrade of the Auckland network ahead of the opening of the CRL. 

The other $107.7m will be spent on rail maintenance and renewals in Auckland and Wellington to address critical network issues. 

In March, KiwiRail said it needed a further $150 million to finish the rail network rebuild in Auckland – taking the cost of the project to $550m. 

Full replacement of railway foundations, tracks and sleepers over the entire network to bring it up to standard ahead of the opening of the CRL was budgeted to cost $330m. 

Director of transport blog and lobby group Greater Auckland, Matt Lowrie, was also positive about the additional $159.2m maintenance funding on the upgrade of the Auckland rail network. 

“Getting that additional funding to get the network up to speed is really good because this is sort of once in a generation or, or once in a couple of generations, level of investment,” Lowrie said. 

“Getting it all done and getting it upgraded before before the CRL makes a lot of sense and, and it is the right thing to do.” 

Lowrie said the rail network failures and delays in Auckland over the past few years have been “terrible”. 

“It’s not just this year, it’s been the last four years [it] really has been atrocious and it’s really had a big impact on on the people’s perception of rail and on people’s use of rail,” he said. 

Green MP for Rongotai Julie Anne Genter at her electorate office in Wellington, May 16, 2024. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

However, Green party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter described the Auckland rail funding in Budget 2024 as “just baseline”. 

“It’s really important, but it’s not going to do anything other than keep our rail networks from completely collapsing,” Genter said. 

“So there’s billions of dollars going towards a relatively small number of roads when that money could be going to improve rail public transport and the ferries that we need between the North and South Island. It’s just so unbalanced already.” 

Also announced in Budget 2024 was an additional billion dollars of funding for NZ Transport Agency to accelerate the delivery of priority projects such as the Roads of National Significance. 

This additional $1b is on top $20.7b in spending to roll out between 2024 and 2027 focusing on highway projects. 

Yet KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said the rail funding highlighted a commitment to reliable public transport in Auckland and Wellington and supporting export growth nationally. 

Reidy said the rail network rebuild was “addressing the highest-priority issues and is crucial for allowing more frequent trains across the city once the City Rail Link opens in 2026″. 

“We have already completed rebuild work on the core network, and the funding in Budget 2024 will allow us to finish the job, replacing ageing track foundations and improving drainage on the outer parts of the metro network.” 

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the rail maintenance funding was necessary before the opening of the City Rail Link. 

“The investments in public transport infrastructure will improve the reliability and safety of services in our major cities. In recent years, we have seen a disturbing number of speed reductions and delays on the lines in Auckland and Wellington,” the minister said. 

“Fully funding the completion of the Auckland rail network rebuild supports the opening of the City Rail Link by increasing the reliability of the line and wherever possible removing speed restrictions that limit the operation of services.” 

Tom Dillane is an Auckland-based journalist covering local government and crime as well as sports investigations. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is deputy head of news.