[ad_1]
Some Auckland travelers can expect delays and cancellations following the temporary closure of the Britomart train station in the CBD due to a track failure this morning.
Your playlist will load after this announcement.
The urgent repair work on the tracks has put it out of service since the early hours of September 17. Source: 1 NEWS
Auckland Transport says services traveling to Britomart will stop at Newmarket train station.
The Onehunga line is canceled between Britomart and Penrose.
A spokesperson for Auckland Transport told 1 NEWS that the number of affected travelers is in the “low thousands”.
The spokesperson said that the number of passengers using public transport is lower than usual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At 3pm, Auckland Transport said the track failure is still ongoing.
KiwiRail COO Todd Moyle said the route to Britomart was likely to be closed overnight.
“We anticipate that the line to Britomart will be closed today, but will reopen tomorrow morning. More work will be done on Friday night to fully complete the work.”
There are replacement bus services from Britomart to Newmarket from stop 1338 on Commerce St between Quay and Tyler St.
The closure comes as KiwiRail continues to improve Auckland’s rail network.
Moyle said its updates have been sped up, as previously announced.
He said that more than 100km of Auckland’s rail network need to be replaced or repaired.
“KiwiRail was already aware of the faults near Britomart and had planned to deal with them during a future temporary shutdown,” Moyle said.
“However, routine monitoring of the site last night revealed that rolling contact fatigue (RCF), cracks caused by pressure on the rail from passing trains, was significant enough to repair immediately.
“In making such decisions, safety is KiwiRail’s primary concern. Overseas, RCF has been associated with derailments.”
He apologized for the situation.
“We assure the public that we are working around the clock and that no maintenance work has a higher priority than this project in Auckland.”
For safety reasons, Auckland Transport has set a speed restriction of 40km / h for all trains while repairs continue.
The Southern Line will be closed from 21 September between Newmarket and Penrose for four weeks while KiwiRail continues its repairs on the Auckland network.
It follows the four-week closure of the eastern line between Ōtāhuhu and Britomart, which is due to reopen on Monday.
KiwiRail staff have been at Britomart since this morning and are working to repair the track.
