Auckland Transport has reduced its passenger rail services on the Western Line after KiwiRail discovered a "subsidence issue", resulting in the closure of an entire track.
It's another blow for users of the city's trains after AT announced last week it was shutting much of its network for several months from Christmas for an almost complete rebuild, affecting up to 250,000 commuters.
There will be disruption through to 2025 due to that work.
KiwiRail is today "urgently investigating" after workers found movement in an overhead electric pole during a routine inspection on the Western Line on Monday.
After further investigations, KiwiRail said it believe 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," a statement read.
Only a single track is currently operating, and it's not clear how long for. For the morning peak, services will now only operate every half-hour between Swanson and New Lynn, with services between New Lynn and Britomart running every 20 minutes, and some passengers will need to change trains at New Lynn.
Some rail replacement buses will also be running.
"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 and keep our passengers safe and fix the issue as quickly as possible," a statement read.
Earlier this month Auckland Transport and KiwiRail announced rolling closures of the network for an extensive rebuild.
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The Eastern Line between Britomart and Ōtāhuhu will be closed for "most of" next year from March until December.
Meanwhile, the Southern Line will be closed between Newmarket and Ōtāhuhu from late December 2022 to March 2023, alongside the entire Onehunga Line.
Western Line services are not expected to close in 2023.
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