Frustrating, unreliable and annoying is how Auckland commuters are describing the city's train services.
Auckland's public transport network has been plagued by delays and cancellations in recent weeks.
Auckland Transport said rail commuters would have to put up with delays for the next few years as work ramped up to accommodate the City Rail Link.
Last week, just as the upgraded Southern and Eastern lines reopened, dozens of trains were cancelled when the tracks overheated.
And this week, all train services ground to a halt during the morning commuter peak because of KiwiRail infrastructure issues, and were delayed by up to 30 minutes for the rest of the day.
Between 15 January and 19 February there were 1303 train services that were cancelled. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Commuters at Britomart and Newmarket stations are at their wit's end.
"Actually I'm quite tired of this issue because you trust the trains, you trust the service, and it's not reliable. It's really stressful to come to work at a certain hour, and you are ready, and you arrive to the station, and the train is not there," one said.
"They've been cancelled twice this month. So I ended up late for work two days in a row because I had to take the bus instead," said another.
Between 15 January and 19 February there were 1303 train services that were cancelled as train lines were down for planned maintenance.
That was after 78 trains were cancelled in a single working day.
Track speed restrictions, motor points issues, and crew shortages were been to blame, Auckland Transport said.
Commuters say AT should do better
"I think they should make the service more reliable. I take the Eastern line, the services have been stopped for nine months due to some maintenance. People would expect that the quality is better.
"I would like a more frequent service, at least it not being late, and prompt communication that would be good.
"Just deliver on what you say, right? You have a schedule, stick to it as best as possible. I think it's also the communication around it, you find out five minutes before you've actually got to get on the train that's been delayed or cancelled."
Auckland Transport says rail commuters will have to put up with delays for the next few years as work ramps up to accommodate the City Rail Link. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
One train user outside Newmarket compared Auckland to cities overseas.
"I came back from Japan a couple of months ago, so their transport system is my ideal. If you miss one, it's all good, because it comes in the next three minutes."
Others have just accepted that delays or cancellations are the norm for Auckland's troubled train network.
"Is there much that we can really do? Not really. As always, it can always be better, but it's just one of those things that everyone's got to deal with."
One man said it was not worth making a fuss over a short wait.
"People who get in a panic are like the people who try and get one car length ahead on the motorway. What difference is it going to make?" he said.
More disruption ahead
Auckland Transport public transit director Stacey Van Der Putten said KiwiRail had resolved the issue with overheating rail lines that caused much of last week's problems.
But, with further work being done to accommodate the City Rail Link, disruptions will be inevitable for the next few years.
"There will be disruption. It will be communicated. Every now and then there will be unplanned disruption, that's the nature of running an operational network, and we will do our best to be able to communicate that effectively and efficiently and provide alternative services to our customers."
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Since train services resumed on 15 January, 4370 services have been replaced by busses, because of KiwiRail and City Rail Link work.
KiwiRail explains delays and cancellations
KiwiRail chief capital planning and asset development officer David Gordon said it was "unfair" when asked why KiwiRail was seeing so many disruptions.
"We're two-thirds of the way through an entire rebuild of the network," he told Checkpoint.
"Heat restrictions are a fact of life in any metro network and any network around the world - those are down to a very small number now.
"And speed restrictions are associated with the rebuild. Some of the speed restrictions we're doing is like a new road. You don't run at full speed across it."
He said the current situation was "not good for the passengers".
"We've had a run of things and it's not good enough. But to say 'Oh why can't you get [it] together', I think is a little bit of an unfair characterisation."
As for Thursday's disruptions, he put it down to a miscommunication between the team that monitors the train control software and the network team.
"It is just a genuine error by a software engineer, who should have left it [the software] alone."
The signalling system was down for 13 minutes, but there was a cascading effect, he said.
Commuters are already changing their plans to work around disruptions.
"I come in from Meadowbank, which is quite close, but it was closed for a whole year, so I had to modify my train customs."
Some train users said they caught the train to avoid traffic or paying for parking.
"They need to do something to improve the train culture. Because the traffic is always awful. Maybe to increase the amount of trains."
Others said they would use the train more if services were reliable.
"I try to bike where I can, because that's more reliable. It's such a good service when it does work, I just wish it worked more."
