There’s been comment on it already in my post from this morning on the EMU launch but I just wanted to address the issue of the delays to the Electric train this morning. The herald were quick to jump on it.
Auckland’s gleaming new electric trains launched into business at 5.48am today – and quickly experienced delays.
Much fuss was made this morning as the first trains to enter passenger service headed out of Onehunga with regular commuters outnumbered by transport officials, politicians and journalists on the 72-metre train.
However a combination of driver nerves and possible problems with the retraction of the door steps meant trains were running up to 25 minutes late this morning.
Special ambassadors on board the train told passengers they were sorry for the delays but there were a few teething problems.
They then reportedly asked passengers for their patience while the drivers got used to the new trains.
One official at the Onehunga station told the Herald the delays were due to a problem with the automatic steps which were not retracting properly.
A press release from Transdev at 9.30 confirmed some Southern & Onehunga lines are experiencing some minor delays.
In many ways this isn’t surprising and there always seem to be these kinds of teething issues that crop up when something so new happens. It’s happened after signalling and track upgrades and after station upgrades. For example there was a huge problem a in early 2010 the day the new Newmarket Station opened. The reality is that while these teething problems are a pain and very disappointing, they do tend to be very temporary and limited to the first day or two. If we are still having problems in a few days then we need to be getting concerned.