Over crowding not so bad after all

It seems the over-crowding issues I mentioned previously aren't as bad as I initially reported. I thought us Aucklanders had it rough, then I read this article in stuff.co.nz.

"Some rail passengers are resorting to perching on toilet seats in cramped carriages during the one-hour trip from Kapiti to Wellington."

We don't have the luxury of a toilet on our commuter trains in Auckland, but if you're busting to go while commuting to Wellington, it sounds like you might find yourself holding on despite toilets being available.

At least they have a toilet though, even if it is being used as a seat... I've been in a position of near desperation a couple of times over the past year and my trip is only 40mins. Spare a thought for those who commute for an hour and a half between Britomart and Helensville, if they find themselves needing relief, it's a long way between toilets.

Moving on to other matters, from the Auckland Rail Commuter news desk, on Monday New Lynn's Totara Ave was made one-way for traffic and will stay that way until the completion of the double tracking project. For more information and a map showing the changes to the road you can download this PDF information sheet.

Driving instead of training

Yesterday was the first time in over a year I drove into town instead of catching the train. Work had sent me on a course for the day (in Ponsonby) so I made the decision to drive based on knowing there would be free parking for the day, and that the trains don't go near Ponsonby, and I didn't want to add a bus trip to my commute.

So I drove. I allowed about 45mins for the trip, given Ponsonby is on the Western side of the city, I knew I wouldn't need to go all the way into town (or across it), so figured it would be ample time.

It was! Even with a petrol stop, the whole trip was only about 25mins. I had freeflow for most of the trip.

Statistics have quoted rail patronage is up 30% this winter as Aucklanders have been looking for ways to save on rising petrol costs. Given the ease of my drive, I think it's becoming really noticable, the roads are getting tolerable.

Of course increased patronage has led to over-crowding for commuters, but according to Auckland Regional Transport Authority chief Fergus Gammie, efforts were being made to add more capacity to the system.

"While we acknowledge some trains are crowded at peak times, help is in sight, with two more trains arriving in September and October this year, and six additional trains already on order will be delivered next year,"

"We are literally running to make up for lost time – while we welcome the increase in patronage and had planned for growth, the additional demand we are now seeing due to petrol price increases has meant some operational challenges for us and our (rail) operator, Veolia."

I'm not about to start driving into the city as the cost is still prohibitive, but I found it refreshing to know that should I occasionally need to take the car instead of the train, at least it'll be a painless trip.

NB - I mentioned in an earlier post that I would give updates on the free txt notification service... well it's still providing me updates a minimum of 30mins too late to be useful. It's a pity really, it could have been a really helpful innovation, instead it's another aspect of the rail service that is failing to meet expectations.

Rather than finishing on that negative note though, I will say this... my last few commutes have not been too crowded and they have run to time, and although this is the bare minimum I'd expect in terms of the quality of service provided, given the recent growth, I'd consider that positive!

Rail timetables

I was riding a slightly later train this morning after running a few errands before work and it was quite a different experience. The train was nearly empty, and of those who were still riding, there seemed to be more just travelling a few stops rather than the full trip into Britomart (or Newmarket).

The funny thing was the train was still pulling four carriages. It makes you wonder why there could ever be a need for that kind of capacity after peak morning hours have passed. I'm not complaining here, I was quite content to ride a nearly empty, quiet train with two seats to myself. I just wonder at the cost of pulling four carriages when two would have been more than enough.

Anyway, two nice old ladies came aboard about Mt Albert, heading for a morning shopping in Newmarket and were happily chatting to themselves (they sat near me hence I picked up some info about there plans), and when the ticket man came by they both asked for a timetable because both of their's were overdue... That got me to thinking it might be good to offer a link to were the new timetables are posted, so click here for the lastest train timetable for the western line of Auckland's Rail Network. (PDF)

..And if you're trying to figure out the cost of catching the train and whether it'd be cheaper than driving, click here for a table of train fares.

New station for Newmarket

Yesterday Annette King, Labour's Minister for Transport, was invited to speak at a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of the new train station at Newmarket, turning the first sod.

The total redevelopment of Newmarket station and junction will cost $48 million, including $25 million for the station building and track realignment work at a cost of $23 million. Last week Hawkins Construction won the contract to build the new station.

The new design will include twin platforms in the middle, two elevated concourses and three tracks. Pedestrian facilities will link the station with Remuera Road and adjacent business, retail and local bus stops.

In her speech, Annette King managed to get off her Labour Party soapbox for a few minutes to mention some growth statistics...

The benefits of improving public transport in Auckland are only too clear, with train patronage in the region growing 130 percent over the past four years. In real terms, we are looking at an increase from 2.5 million passengers in 2003 to close to seven million projected by the end of this year.

I've referred to this here previously, but obviously this growth needs to managed carefully to keep existing services efficient and passengers comfortable. Trains are expected to be using the new station in two years, so in the interim I hope timetables are carefully planned to avoid bottlenecks and delays.

I found these computer renderings of what the new station in Newmarket could look like so posted them here... very shiny!

Been a few days...

The past few days have been occupied with a deadline, so I have not been able to post anything new. Now with the deadline out of the way, today I am able to get back into it.

Last Friday and Monday were uneventful trips on the train, everything ran smooth and on time on my Western Line commute. Just they way we all like it.

I had to endure another offensive smelling passenger who sat right beside me. Ethnic minority, smelling of stale tabacco and musty clothing, and a nervous habit of chewing at his fingertips, like the sound of someone eating with their mouth open right in your ear. I had a window seat, so tried to lean towards the glass, breathe shallow and get lost in my book, a moderately successful technique to help endure the trip.

At least the train ran to time.

I've been receiving the txt updates from Veolia Transport about delays in their service every few days, and all of them have been arrived about half an hour too late to be of any help.

Last night, having worked slightly later than usual to hit my deadline, I was going to be catching a later train. As it happened all Western Line services around peak hour were delayed, and I got a barrage of txts keeping me posted with updates as each service was announced late or cancelled - all about 30mins to late.

But I was at least aware there was no need to rush over to Britomart as I wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry. So for that reason the txts proved useful.

Of course whenever the trains are running late, you know the next service to actually get away is going to be over-crowded. Sure enough, the train I caught had us crammed in like sardines. I was standing in the aisle where reading a book it a bit difficult, so I went for my back-up option, got out my ipod and tuned into a couple of episodes of the I.T. Crowd. If you've never heard of it, I have trouble watching it without laughing out loud... it's hillarious!

Of course a fit of uncontrollable laughter is a little overt for my likings on the train, which is mostly quiet, and in this case full of fairly frustrated passengers, so I had to control myself.

I don't think it's ever shown on New Zealand TV, but the wonderful internet allows us to see all sorts of things! I reccomend tracking down some episodes if you get the chance.

Westie humour

Something about this platform sign makes me smile every time I go past it. It's a pity it's on the city bound side of the platform so I only see it in the morning - probably not the best time to be thinking about beer.

Maori Wardens

After the incident last week where the teenage girl got her arm caught in a carriage door, Mark Lambert, who appeared on TVNZ's Close Up stated one of the measures Veolia Transport were taking to assist the safety of passengers was that there would be Maori Wardens riding on the trains during peak hours to help move passengers away from doors.

I can confirm I've started seeing them in the evening. Their job appears to be to politely ask passengers standing near the door to move down the aisles leaving the entry and exit points clear.

The issue I have with this is that this has always been the protocol, and for the most part people already do this. But unfortunately over-crowding on peak hour trains means the aisles are already full leaving no standing room other than by the doors. At one stop I hear a Warden announcing "Please move away from the doors if you can... if you can't, don't worry", which translates to "I know you can't move, this carriage is full to over-flowing but I have to be seen to be doing the job I'm getting paid for, so I'm announcing this anyway!"

I often have to stand if I don't get to the train a bit early and can definitely say, if there is an option to move down the aisle, I'll always take it for the very simple reason that it's a more comfortable place to stand. If you end up stuck by the doors, often you can't reach any handles and people really get crammed into this space making it normal to get a face full of another passengers hair ...or bad breath... the list goes on but you get the idea.

The Maori Wardens obviously aren't doing any harm and it can't hurt to prompt the few passengers who have recently started riding the trains and don't know the etiquette yet, but really it's a minor gesture and does not solve the over-crowding problem.

North Island Main Trunk Centenary

Last Friday, 08/08/08 was the 100th anniversary of the Parliamentary Special train trip to meet the Great White Fleet, from Wellington to Auckland.

Seeing as momentum is building in the media on the electrification of Auckland's rail newtork, I thought I'd include a link to Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee's speech to the attendees of the function held that evening in celebration of the anniversary.

He spoke of the important impact rail has had in New Zealand over the past 100 years including the contibution to both world wars and the growth of trade and the ecomony. Further to that he honoured the men who laid the tracks between Wellington and Auckland through 700kms of some of New Zealand's most rugged terrain, and likened that achievement to the difficulties Auckland is about to face in electrifying the rail, completing the Western loop tunnel from Britomart to Mt Eden and extending rail out to the airport.

Last month we restored passenger services to Helensville after an interregnum of nearly 30 years, next year with our friends in Ontrack we will recommission the Onehunga Branch line and resume passenger services.
We are closer than anyone has been ever before to electrifying Auckland’s rail network.
Today I wrote to the Minister of Transport formally applying for fuel tax support the purchase of a brand new fleet of electric multiple units and a raft of other capital improvements to public transport. And in my letter I formally advised the Minister of our determination to get on with building the CBD tunnel loop linking Britomart to the western line at Mt Eden and also our determination to push ahead with extending rail to Auckland international airport as quickly as possible.

How auspicious it is then ladies and gentlemen – that in this most important centennial year – we are witnessing the renaissance of New Zealand rail. Surely that is the best way to remember those heroic New Zealanders who built the Main Trunk Line 100 years ago.

We look to the past with pride and to the future with great optimism.

If Mike Lee has any say in the matter, I believe we'll start hearing more and more about the progress these projects are making rather than just hearing about them as things we are planning to achieve.

As someone riding the Western Line everyday, I can't wait for a tunnel to Mt Eden to get underway.

Two weeks ago my father in-law made a last minute decision to fly over from the Gold Coast to see the Bledisloe Cup match at Eden Park. Seeing as he was going to stay with us, we had to work out a plan to get him to our place in the Waitakeres from the Airport. His flight came in at about noon and both my wife and I work so dropping everything with one days notice to go collect him was not going to be an option.

Being a resourceful Kiwi (he was born here) he caught a shuttle to downtown, then jumped on a train from Britomart out to Henderson, were he stepped out of the station, across the road and into the RSA, where he spent a couple of hours chatting with locals.

I got a call when I got home (about 6pm) asking if I would pop down and pick him up. The reason I mentioned all this was even if that was a relatively straight forward trip, how much easier and cheaper would it have been if he could have boarded a train from the Airport that transported him all the way to Henderson (even if, via the city)?

The sooner these expansion projects happen the better. Auckland's adoption of the rail has grown at an exponential rate, passenger numbers that were projected to be achieved by 2012 have already been overtaken, so if the infrastructure does not continue to expand to meet the demand, momentum could slow, people could lose interest and seek alternatives, the government's investment in the rail could be devalued and we'll just have another thing to grumble about.

Let's go, we are already behind!

Who's running the show?

I had an uneventful trip into town this morning. That is to say, everything ran smoothly. As our train circled around Vector Arena on its approach to Britomart, we were greeted with a blast of sunshine just cresting the horizon. It reminded me the days are starting to get longer and the darkness of my winter commute has passed for another year.

With nothing of note going on that I would be able to comment on, I got to thinking about one of the more frustrating things about Auckland's rail network... There does not seem to be any single group to take responsibilty for the service when it's not performing.

Who deals with complaints, or accepts blame when things go wrong? Who can give assurances that systems are being put in place to prevent issues reoccuring?

In previous posts I've been pointing the finger of blame at Veolia Transport when things go wrong... I have since discovered what is likely to be the most compelling reason why no-one accepts responsibility when the trains are late or breakdown...

So many different groups are involved in the process of running our rail network, all each has to do to avoid responsiblilty is point the finger at the next guy.

Lets take a look at who owns/operates what:

• The signals and tracks are owned by the Crown and operated by the Government agency Ontrack.
• All the diesel-units and carriages are owned by Auckland Regional Council but maintained by Toll.
• Locomotives owned and maintained by Toll.
• Train services contracted by Auckland Regional Transport Authority and run by Veolia Transport.
• Locomotive drivers employed by Toll, managed by Veolia.
• The diesel-unit drivers and all other train staff are employed by Veolia.

It's no wonder there is little or no accountability when things go wrong. The bureaucracy going on here can't be efficient. I doubt even they understand who is to blame when things go wrong. With no accountability the service will continue to suffer, not only do they need to complete the infrastrucure, they need to simplify the operation.

The administration costs of operating Auckland's rail network must be rediculous, and you can guarantee the money would be better spent contributing to the infrastructure upgrades.

Intercoms and txt notifications

Occasionally, while I've been waiting at Glen Eden, I've heard updates come over an intercom on the platform, telling everyone about a delay on our next service to Britomart "via Glen Innes"... what, wait a minute! Did they say Glen Innes?

-yes

So presumably the MC at the Central Control switch board gets confused about Auckland geography.... regularly. But this confirms there is a system to notify passengers standing on platforms about delays. The platform intercom never made a peep this morning. I guess it's possible the people in Glen Innes knew exactly what was going on though!

After this morning, I did some research on the web and discovered I could subscribe to a txt service provided by Veolia Transport, that will send notifications to my cell phone if there were going to be delays on my service.

For 20c I was able to subscibe to a message service for "Morning Commuter Peak" on the Western Line, and for another 20c I could get the afternoon commuter peak messages.

Apparently this has been on offer since 2004. I wonder why it's not more widely known, or maybe it is and I just didn't know. If it was so widely known though, why were so many people turning up for trains that weren't moving this morning?

I have my doubts about whether I'll ever get a useful txt, I guess in time I'll see if my 40c was well spent...

Com' on Veolia, prove me wrong.

Readers, I'll keep you posted.

What do you mean, you ran out of gas?

Did anyone catch Close Up last night? If you missed it you can catch-up with it on TVNZ ondemand but in summary it was a report about the status of public transport, in particular the rail network and how Aucklanders are about to be hit with a 10c fuel tax on the promise that we'll get a state of the art public transport system.

Mike Hoskings laid into Mark Lambert, ARTA's General Manager of Customer Services, about the state of the over-crowding on trains during peak hour and the dangers and discomfort it causes. Last week a teenage girl got her arm caught in a door as a result of being forced through crowding to stand too close to the door. Blind people with seeing-eye-dogs not being able to get near enough to a hand railing to hold on to, let alone a seat. I think the list went on for quite a while.

Mark Lambert, who should have been a politician with the way he dodged answering the tough questions, tried to explain that all major cities experience crowding during peak hours on their public transport, and that Veolia Transport had already addressed this issue on the southern line by adding more services and increasing carriages.

The report clearly demonstrated in a fairly unbiased fashion the lack of satisfaction rail passengers have with the public transport service.

That was on the telly last night, this morning I parked in Glen Eden at 7am and my train arrived at 7.05, right on time. I boarded and sat there... and nothing happened. Then people who had just boarded with me started getting off again. Word was spreading that a train ahead of our one had run out of gas and was blocking the line.

Run out of gas?! How is that even possible? Surely in the year 2008 we have devised a guage for train diesel tanks which can turn on a little red light when they start getting low... I know they've been adding them to cars for as long as I can remember. I think even lawn mowers have them now!

So the friendly staff (no really, they were quite helpful this morning) had started to offer passengers their options, either catch the bus departing from right next to the train station in about 5mins, get back in their cars and drive themselves (for those with cars in Glen Eden) or to wait for an indefinite time because they didn't know how long it was going to take to clear the blockage. I overheard other passengers mention something about an hour wait, so I guess that's why the majority of people opted to try their luck with option one or two.

The leaving passengers were being given pass credits to be used another time. The majority left... I stayed. If for no other reason than to see just how long we were going to have to wait, and how hard the staff would work to keep us informed.

At about 7:30 only a handful of people remained in each carriage, and the odd passenger was arriving to be greeted by staff with the explanation about the delay. By then staff were telling people the "response service" was departing from, I think he said, Papakura... and could be about half an hour away.

Then at about 7.45 the staff got word from somewhere/someone that we would be moving in about 5mins.

Sure enough we did, a mostly empty train, running 45mins late headed towards Britomart.

We came to another stop just after Fruitvale Rd (the next platform on the line) where we waited another 5-10mins. An announcement came over the intercom (barely audible without the keen ears of a fox) that we had to wait for another service heading West to go past. A result of the double tracking project in New Lynn already mentioned in a previous post. Then we were off again.

Of course every platform along the Western Line was crammed full of passengers waiting for a train, and seeing as we were the first functional train they had seen in the past hour, they all expected to be picked up by us. So we duely stopped, open the doors and loaded them on. Within two stops we were full to overflowing, at which point at all stops there after, passengers were being turned away and asked to wait for the next one.

Well done Veolia!

Fortunately my boss shows understanding about these things, so my arriving to work at 8.45am was not the end of the world... I'm sure not everyone would get the same response. Overall, my commute was about 2hrs worth this morning. The staff were polite and as helpful as they could be given they were not being kept well informed.

So Mark Lambert, what do you have to say to all us Western Line passengers today? I expect you'll be very quiet today.

Nasal offensive

Last night, my train home ran perfectly to time. It's as though someone at Veolia Transport knew I was starting this blog and decided they should make an effort to keep everything running smoothly.

Not that I'm complaining! This is how rail transport should operate. Nice work.

However something worthy of mention did occur yesterday evening, but was of no fault of the train or staff, but rather a fellow passenger. The event I'm refering to can be categorised under Personal Hygiene!

Soon after I had seated myself and started reading a book (the train was due to depart Britomart in about 5 more minutes), I noticed a stench. The carriage was filling fast as it always does at that time, and it's normal for me to zone-out of my surroundings.

Sometimes I wonder at my ability to sit next to someone for a 40min trip on the train and not remember a single thing about them afterwards. If someone asked me to describe the person who had sat next to me on that trip, I'd have difficulty even defining what gender they were, let alone what they looked like. I'd be hopeless if the Police needed a description for a crime commited.

But one thing can make a person stand out in a crowded train carriage of commuters... poor hygiene! Think teenage boy's bedroom mixed with spicy armpits and a hint of urine. I was certain the smell was coming from behind me, which meant I was powerless to act on it. I was already locked in my seat by another passenger who had sat down beside (a person who, as I write this, I could not tell you the first thing about).

Turning around to get a look at what I was having to deal with wasn't an option either. I find making eye contact with strangers on the train uncomfortable, as though I've been caught staring. So I was forced to try and breathe shallow and take my mind off it. My anonymous co-pilot (the passenger seated beside me) might well have been thinking the same thing, or worse, that I might have been responsible fo it.

Needless to say, the trip wasn't so pleasant. I thought I remembered being told by a wine connoisseur friend of mine that humans can only smell an odour for about 10-15 seconds before the olfactory sense reaches a kind of saturation, preventing the smell from being registered after that. My stinky friend proved that theory wrong, managing to offend me with a nasal assault all the way to New Lynn.

The lesson to be learnt here is to have a bit of self respect... clean and deodorise! Especially if you are intending to close yourself into a cramped space for any extended period with other people. Even if you think you smell fine, stop and ask yourself when was the last time you put your work clothes through the wash and did you put on deodorant that morning... if not for yourself, do it for the rest us forced to remain within an arms reach of you.

Stinky bastard!

uneventful journey

It's typical, but on the morning of my first entry about riding the Western Line to work, nothing of consequence happened. The train arrived in Glen Eden on-time (7:05am), was not over-crowded (I managed to get a window seat which is rare) and even the conductor seemed to be enjoying himself.

I'll mention we had a brief stop for a few minutes, parked a little before New Lynn as we waited for another train heading West to go by. This is tolerable considering the amount of work going on with New Lynn's station upgrade and double tracking project.

Seeing as there is not too much to report this morning, I'll give a bit of background on the Double Tracking project. It means more reliable train services and more trains at peak times. Once completed, it will enable the train frequency to increase from what used to be two per hour, to the current four, and eventually six trains per hour at peak times.

These aerial photos show the progress being made in New Lynn - before and after development started.Construction began in 2007 and is intending to be completed by the end of 2009 for a cost of a $120 million (not much). In Budget 06 the government allocated $600 million over three years to ONTRACK for Project DART – a series of infrastructure improvements to enable better rail services in Auckland. $120million makes it the biggest investment New Lynn has ever had from the government.

The plan is for one kilometre of track to be "trenched" to depths of between five and eight metres below the existing ground level between Portage Rd and Titirangi Rd. They say trenching the line will enable the rail station to integrate into the town centre, opening up more opportunities for future development.

With all this work happening, I can sit for a few minutes just outside New Lynn, tuned into my ipod or a good book without getting worked up or frustrated about the standard of Auckland's rail service.

I arrived at Britomart on time, having had a good opportunity to listen to a new album I recently bought. Keep up the good work!

AWF phenomenon

I heard a bit of commentry about the way to guage the success of a public transport solution referred to as the AWF phenomenon (or Attractive White Female phenomenon) which researchers have found is a key indicator of the successful uptake.

The idea is that if attractive white females start riding on trains/buses they can be considered clean, safe and reliable.

Everyday the trains I'm catching are clean, safe and (mostly) reliable, however they are also over-crowded, loud and staffed by often less-than helpful, seemingly bitter conductors (not all, just enough for me to warrant a mention).

In the past 12months I have been riding the trains, they have steadily become busier and busier. More carriages have been added and each new timetable release has included more frequent trains, so even if you miss a train, generally you wont have to wait too long for the next one (especially during peak hour).

Further to that, I think it's fair to say there are quite a few AWFs riding on the trains, along with all other sub-categories of people... seemingly all not put off enough by the short-comings to cease riding them.

Regional fuel tax vs. electrified rail network

Auckland, it's happened! We are all going to start to pay more tax on our petrol after the regional council unanimously voted to approve a new regional fuel tax today.

The tax will be phased in over three years, starting with a one cent a litre levy from July 2009, eventually up to five cents a litre.

The intention is to raise more than $600 million to buy new trains once Auckland's rail network is electrified, and for station upgrades.

With the Auckland Regional Council's approval, it now needs to be approved by Government, which lets face it, when have they not approved increasing tax!

I may ride the train to work during the week, but I still drive a car on the weekends. That puts me in a bit of a quandry as to whether I support fuel tax...

There is no doubt Auckland needs to head towards electrifying the rail network, but targeting petrol prices (which are already sky-high and rising) seems futile.

Demand for petrol might well lessen in the not too distant future due to people changing their behaviour (I admit this is probably a stretch at this point, but petrol could soon become unaffordable for a lot of people). What happens then, will the government raise the fuel tax even further to maintain the revenue stream they require to fund electrification?

AA Auckland transport spokesman Simon Lambourne has also questioned the legality and responibility of the ARC in introducing the fuel tax. In a letter to Mike Lee he asks:

"We seek an assurance from you that should the ARC wish to progress a regional fuel tax in the future, then prior to doing so it will undertake a comprehensive consultation process that meets the expectations of the AA, Auckland motorists and the law,"

Can Aucklanders afford it? no, not considering the current ecomonic climate.

Does that even matter? no.

Is the public transport infrastructure more important...? I think it might be, I just can't see all the money needed, coming from petrol tax. So will we get electric trains, running efficiently, cost effectively, on time and with better coverage in time for all the people who will no longer be able to afford to run their cars?

...I doubt it.

Would a more sensible approach be to borrow the money, build a fantastic public transport system, then increase the hell out of petrol prices to pay for it. That way at least when petrol gets too expensive, the public will have a public transport option.

Quit Procrastinating

I've been meaning to start sharing and documenting my rail experiences for sometime now. Now that I've been communiting on the trains for over a year, it's time. Prepare to be riveted!

My intention is not to criticise the trains (there seems to be plenty of that already out there) but rather to give voice to my observations and experiences in the hope that more people will find the idea appealing and leave their cars at home (that's my "social responsibility" taken care of), and also that Veolia Transport (who operate our Auckland network) might occasionally have a read and see if they can't learn something about the service they are operating from a customers point of view.

First, a bit of background... in the morning I drive to Glen Eden from my home in Oratia (about a 7min drive) where I can park for free outside the train station. I catch any one of about 3 trains depending on how swiftly I can crawl out of the sack, dress, brush my teeth, take the dog out to pee, pack my lunch, kiss my wife goodbye and drive to the train station.

My trip usually lasts about 40mins into Britomart, where my work is only one block away. After a day of enterprising, profitable, website anaylising, I head back across to Britomart and catch any one of about 3 trains back to Glen Eden.

Including my drive, a variable wait on the platform and about 40mins on the train, I usually spend no more than 1hr each way commuting.

With that said, starting tomorrow, I'm going to document what it's like to ride the trains in Auckland... more specifically, on the Western Line.