KiwiRail says it has "removed the need for heat speed restrictions" on Auckland's Southern train line after commuters faced a barrage of train cancellations earlier this month.
However, several temporary speed restrictions remain on the city's train network.
KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, Auckland One Rail — the two public agencies and private train operator responsible for running passenger rail in Auckland — issued a joint media release earlier today.
KiwiRail metros general manager Jon Knight said crews had removed heat restrictions on 4.4km of the line between Ōtāhuhu and Papakura.
"Within 96 hours of the meeting with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, our track teams carried out remedial work at night," he said.
“We have also managed to remove 500m of temporary speed restrictions across the network, reducing the length under restrictions by 7%.
"We are continuing to work at night to reduce temporary speed restrictions further.
“There have also been issues with signals in Britomart, following some upgrades for the City Rail Link over Christmas.
The organisation has laid out the scale of the challenge to find replacement ships for the cancelled Interislander ferries. (Source: 1News)
"In the last month, this has occasionally stopped trains getting to some platforms. This is due to a technical, software issue which we expect to have resolved by mid-March.
Meanwhile, an unrelated outage on the city's train network last week was caused by unsanctioned diagnostics work carried out by an IT staffer.
Knight continued: “I appreciate how frustrating ongoing disruptions have been for Aucklanders over the last month."
He said speed restrictions and heat restrictions would be less necessary as the agency worked through its $300 million rebuild of Auckland's rail network, which involves rolling track closures on all lines.
"The network is progressively improving, but areas where we haven’t yet completed crucial civil construction work may still cause some disruption problems."
The KiwiRail official continued: "The kind of upgrades we are doing in Auckland are normally carried out over decades but we’ve only got two more years - all while keeping commuter trains running. It can be difficult at times and disruption can happen.
High temperatures saw multiple rush hour services on Auckland's train network cancelled yesterday. (Source: Breakfast)
"I appreciate Aucklanders’ patience with unplanned disruption and when we have to close lines early at night, on weekends and over holidays. We are committed to building a better, more resilient network for the city over the next few years."
Heat and temporary speed restrictions are maintenance tools "constantly being imposed or lifted based on inspection and compliance demands across the network."
"They can be put in place temporarily when a track issue is discovered and needs to be repaired or when major upgrade work has been done and time is needed for new track to settle or be destressed by a specialist machine."
Crew shortages to be resolved
Train operator Auckland One Rail is also bringing on new crew whilst a new combined train control centre will soon open in Ellerslie.
Chief executive Martin Kearney said crew shortages "which can contribute to train delays and cancellations are also being resolved."
"We have the next intake of trainees graduating soon and expect to have them on the trains by mid-March. There will be further intakes throughout the year," he said.
"This will give us greater flexibility, to reduce the scale of disruption on a given day if there are unforeseen issues with the network."
Auckland Transport public transport executive director Stacey van der Putten said: "The new Auckland Train Control Centre, which will begin operating in late March, will also help.
"It will mean when there is a disruption, the right Auckland Transport, Auckland One Rail and KiwiRail teams will be in the same place and be able to respond more efficiently."
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