Larry Williams Drive

It looks like Auckland’s going to be commuter hell for the next few years. Yesterday, Kiwirail and Auckland transport announced they need to do huge maintenance work to the rail network. They’re shutting down big chunks of the train network on all three lines for the next three years. The Eastern line, for example, is going to be down for nearly a year next year. There is no one to blame here, from what I can see at the moment at least. This work needs to be done. It’s as fundamental as piling your house. They’ve got to do it.  But, it’s going to be really hard. Auckland’s already hard to get around and now we’re forcing thousands and thousands of people out of trains and into their cars every day.  And they are going to be getting into their cars. Be under no illusion, they are not all going to be using the replacement busses. I heard one woman on the radio today say she once caught the replacement bus and her normally 23 minute train journey took 55 minutes in the bus, and she’s not doing it again because s