NEW ZEALAND: The Auckland One Rail joint venture took over from Transdev Auckland on January 17 as operator of suburban passenger services around the country’s largest city.
Transport authority Auckland Transport had selected the 50-50 joint venture of Singapore’s ComfortDelGro and Australia’s UGL Rail Services to run the four routes totalling 125 km, following what bus, taxi and urban rail operator ComfortDelGro described as a ‘keenly-contested tender’, edging out the Aka Tangata consortium of Transdev, John Holland and CAF. Valued at NZ$1·2bn over an initial eight-year term, the contract includes provision for extension.
Auckland Transport said passengers would not notice significant changes in their day-to-day journeys, but the new contract would enable better integration of all aspects of operations, including NZ$7bn of ongoing investment in the City Rail Link now scheduled to open in 2024, the Papakura – Pukekohe electrification and the purchase of additional electric multiple-units.
Under a more comprehensive contract, the new operator takes over responsibility for station operation and maintenance, management and maintenance of the rolling stock fleet, customer services, safety and security management, as well as industrial relations.
‘With one organisation now responsible for the day-to-day operation of our passenger rail network we’ll see better accountability and responsiveness on the issues which matter most to passengers’, explained AT Chief Executive Shane Ellison. ‘It is also exciting that AOR will open a new train maintenance facility for train overhauls in South Auckland, with a strong focus on helping local Māori and Pasifika communities into trades and engineering apprenticeships.’
Transfer arrangements
Services had been operated by Transdev since 2004. AT said ridership on the city’s rail network had grown from just over 2 million journeys/year in 2000 to more than 22 million journeys by 2020.
The transfer to AOR was handled by a 44-strong team established in September 2021 with representatives from both the old and new operators. ComfortDelGro and UGL entered into a sale and purchase agreement to take over the entire issued share capital of Transdev Auckland, with each partner holding a NZ$5m stake in the business entity which has been renamed Auckland One Rail Ltd.
Paul D’Alessio has been appointed CEO, having previously served as Executive General Manager of Operations for Australian regional passenger train and coach operator V/Line Corp.
New chapter for ComfortDelGro
ComfortDelGro Chairman Lim Jit Poh said the commencement of rail operations in Auckland marked the first overseas heavy rail venture by a Singapore company and ‘a new chapter’ for the group.
‘It signals our move into the international rail scene – 18 years after we began rail operations in Singapore through the North East Line, which was the world’s first fully automated underground line. In the close to two decades that we have been running train services, we have amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience, in the key areas of technical, customer service and disaster recovery. Notably, we have been achieving world class reliability of 2 million mean km between failures across the fleet for two years running now. This track record is important as we look at further growing our rail business.’
ComfortDelGro has also been shortlisted to operate Grand Paris Express Lines 15, 16 and 17 in co-operation with RATP, and to operate the future Western Sydney Airport automated metro line as part of a team including UGL and Coleman Rail.
- Ellison has announced his intention to step down as Auckland Transport CEO on June 24. ‘It is the right time for the board to consider new leadership for a new phase’, he said. The board has begun recruitment of a successor with the aim of making an appointment before his departure.
