Railroading a golden transport opportunity

OPINION: Wellington's train problems could be solved with the introduction of light rail, says Brian Jameson.

Breakdowns and poor service on Wellington's rail network have done public transport no favours. Everyone can understand the frustration of Wellington's rail commuters.

Whether or not we accept the excuses and apologies, we need to keep focused on the longer term opportunities for public transport in Wellington.

The good news for Wellington is that there is a proven transport technology ideally suited to the city's circumstances and geography. The bad news is that we are not implementing it.

Three factors dominate Wellington's transport scene; traffic congestion and the pressure to build more roads, the often overloaded and compressed Golden Mile and a rail network that carries passengers only to the northern edge of the CBD. Unless all three issues are tacked in a concerted way, Wellington's transport situation can only deteriorate as the population grows.

The main approach to traffic volumes is an attempt to build out congestion. This approach is typified by projects such as the proposed flyover at the Basin Reserve. This project has steadily escalated in cost and we are now informed it could cost up to $100 million. Because building out congestion invariably only relocates the bottleneck, that project will inevitably be the prelude to a second Mt Victoria tunnel, currently costed at $175m.

The Golden Mile route is now seriously overloaded at peak with buses often reduced to a crawl through the city. Well over 100 buses are timed to pass north through the Golden Mile during the peak pm hour - a recipe for delay. As a palliative measure to assist buses, the council is reopening Manners Mall but this will not fundamentally alter what is now a seriously dysfunctional public transport route.

Three rail routes converge on Wellington station but, at that point, there is a disconnection for those wanting to go across the CBD, on to Courtenay Place, the regional hospital or airport. Rail passengers are faced with the prospect of walking or using slow and overloaded bus services.

There is proven transport technology that, if adopted, would address all three of Wellington's key transport issues. Unfortunately, for unexplained reasons, that technology is being studiously ignored by transport planners. The modern tram, also known as light rail, can now be used in a tram-train configuration. This means tram-train vehicles have the capacity to run through city streets as well as directly on to conventional rail lines. For Wellington, tram-trains offer a way to overcome the limitations of the current suburban rail network that ends at the edge of the CBD.

Tram-trains can extend the reach of the existing suburban rail network. For example, there is potential for tram-train services originating at Johnsonville to go through the CBD to the regional hospital and, ultimately, the airport.

With a tram-train route through the city connected directly into the suburban rail network, public transport choices for the public in the Wellington region would be vastly expanded.

Tram-trains would also solve the capacity problem across the Golden Mile. A modern articulated tram-train vehicle can carry around 200 passengers, compared with about 50 on a bus, and are quieter, faster and more comfortable.

Internationally, experience shows that people will shift from private cars on to public transport if it is convenient, frequent and comfortable. With tram-trains offering a step-change improvement in public transport services into and across Wellington, the prospects of a significant shift from private vehicles to public transport can become a reality. Without such a shift, heavy reliance on motor vehicles and the pressure to build more road capacity is unavoidable.

Because of its geography and confined space, flat land will always be at a premium in Wellington. The concentration of employment, recreational destinations and increasingly residential accommodation along a single spine only a few blocks wide means that tram-trains are the winner in terms of transport capacity for the cross city route.

The main impediment is the significant upfront cost to install rails into the road surface as well as the power supply structure. Buses can use the existing infrastructure, roads, that are already there. But tram-trains do have a major advantage in that, because they share a common track guage, they can plug directly into the existing rail network.

Tram-trains are an affordable and a cost-effective solution for Wellington. Installing the basic infrastructure for tram- trains will cost around $20m per kilometre. In addition, the tram-train vehicles themselves would cost about $6m each. An initial route from Wellington station to Newtown could be achievable for around $150m.

Tram-trains are only one part of the total transport mix along with private vehicles, buses, cycles and walking. But they are the ideal complement to Wellington's suburban rail and bus network and would reduce the pressure to expand road capacity. Internationally, hundreds of cities are planning, or expanding tram systems. The time has come for a serious investigation into the operational and financial aspects of adopting them. The benefits of tram-trains are clear; what is not is why Greater Wellington regional council and Wellington City Council continue to ignore them.

Brian Jameson is a member of Trans-Action, a group that researches and advocates for public transport.