The Government has again announced that today there will be an announcement over Auckland’s stalled light rail project, that will somehow sandwich trams into the middle of Dominion Road and not affect traffic…cough, cough…
The Government’s plan for light rail in Auckland has finally gone to Cabinet and will be announced on Wednesday, Stuff understands.
The plan for light rail from Auckland’s CBD to the airport was Labour policy at the 2017 election, but fell to the axe of NZ First in 2020.
That scheme was beset by delays, leaks, and reports of dissatisfaction at the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Then-Transport Minister Phil Twyford kicked the plan back to the Ministry of Transport before the election. The current transport minister, Michael Wood, picked up where Twyford left off and took the project to Cabinet.
Stuff understands the new model will be a clean break from the previous “twin track” model, which essentially saw Waka Kotahi, the NZ Transport Agency, bidding against a consortium led by the NZ Super Fund to run the project.
Over the summer, transport officials looked at ways of building the light rail line using a “public service delivery model”.
It’s understood the next steps for the scheme will involve greater transparency and engagement from stakeholders.
Stuff
Sounds like expensive jaw-boning to me, with Government ministers trying to ingratiate themselves with an over-promising and under-delivering flake of a Prime Minister.
This project is going to cost billions, fail to deliver on time and under budget, and hamstring already struggling businesses with years upon years of expensive road works, all to deliver a white elephant that stops well short of the airport and will never in a million years turn a profit.
But apparently this government thinks it can achieve what no other government in the world has ever managed. These fools are like the special kids giving it a go in the three legged race, except they are playing games with our money.
Still, at least I get to run this again: