#RailNews: Rail level crossings between Wellington and Palmerston North will need to be upgraded before new battery-electric trains can run on the Capital Connection. Via The Post: www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

An excellent piece by @Darrendavis.bsky.social on the transformation of Auckland’s bus network. adventuresintransitland.substack.com?utm_source=n...

#BusNews: One of Aotearoa's achievements hidden in plain sight is the huge expansion of Tāmaki Makaurau's frequent bus network, making it one of the best, if not the best, in Australasia. By @darrendavis.bsky.social via Adventures in Transitland: adventuresintransitland.substack.com/p/the-freque...

Great to see Gold Coast light rail stage 3 really starting to take shape with 60+% of the track and overhead catenary in place and many of the stations well under construction. Should be fully open from Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads by mid next year.

At the just opened Pimpama Station on SE Queensland’s fast growing Northern Gold Coast. This is the first of three new Gold Coast Line stations to open, to be followed by Hope Island and Merrimac in 2026.

In Brisbane developments, a pic of the beginning of the installation of the Cross River Rail Albert Street Station canopy. When I moved to Brisbane nearly two years ago, the station was still below ground level so it’s great to see it getting close to its final form.

My latest blog post looks back at a tough year for passenger rail patronage in Aotearoa but looks forward to a much brighter future.

Switzerland is “rich in something vanishingly rare in the rest of the world: common sense. This is most apparent in the way the Swiss get around…a model of sensible, sustainable — and yes, even enjoyable — transit. It’s simply the best transportation system in the world.” Via @taras-grescoe.com

Pictured are the mid to late evening country train departures from Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station. Something we can only dream about in Aotearoa with our apparent obsession with covering our beautiful country with asphalt.

Stoked to be one of the Kiwi urbanists/ transit nerds on @brenttoderian.bsky.social list of urbanists from outside North America. There are rich pickings of great people to follow on this list so dive on in!

#RailNews: The Golden Triangle is home to 40% of NZ's population with huge flows of people and freight. Electrifying its rail could make a real difference to its mobility By @darrendavis.bsky.social via Adventures in Transitland: adventuresintransitland.substack.com/p/electrifyi...

In my latest blog post, I delve into KiwiRail's emerging thinking on the electrification of the Golden Triangle linking Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

#TrainNews: Te Huia's five-year trial is fast coming towards its close on 30th June 2026. What needs to happen to make it a permanent part of Aotearoa's public transport system? By @darrendavis.bsky.social via Adventures in Transitland: adventuresintransitland.substack.com/p/making-te-...

It’s just over nine months until Te Huia’s five year trial comes to an end in mid-2026. There’s lots to be done to secure it as a permanent service between Auckland and Hamilton. Read on for what this involves. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

My latest blog post argues that we need to build the market for the new Tūhono battery electric trains coming into service in 2029 & 2030 by making better use of the existing Capital Connection rolling stock to improve services between Palmerston North & Wellington. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

#RailNews: Aotearoa is investing $802 million in much needed new hybrid trains for the Lower North Island with a contract awarded to Alstom. Just what does this mean in practice? Via Adventures in Transitland by @darrendavis.bsky.social: adventuresintransitland.substack.com/p/all-about-...

#TrainNews: Alstom has been selected to deliver 18 five-car battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) trains. The Train fleet is to be named ‘Tūhono’, meaning connect or unite. The fleet will be manufactured in India by Alstom and are scheduled to enter service from 2030.

My latest blog post looks at a year in the life of Te Huia, the regional train between Hamilton and Auckland in New Zealand. Here’s hoping that the service becomes permanent when the trial finishes in 2026. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

Join me for a quick trip across the motu of public transport developments in Aotearoa/ New Zealand in the first half of 2025. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

#TransportNews: Like the Otago Gold Rush of the 19th Century, its 21st Century counterpart, the gondola rush, has come to town in Queenstown. What is it and will it work? By @darrendavis.bsky.social via @greaterauckland.bsky.social: www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2025/06/10/g...

My latest blog post is my take on the recent proposals for urban gondolas as the solution to Queenstown’s traffic woes. Spoiler alert: I’m not a fan. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

Great news. Te Huia to launch Sunday service, meaning Aotearoa/ New Zealand will have a single regional train with a public transport focus running every day of the week. www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/3607...

In spite of the shouty headline, it costs vastly more in fare enforcement than is collected from fare dodgers. And all that enforcement money would be better spent on improving public transport services rather than fining the few who cannot or choose not to pay. www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/22/a...

#RailNews: A quick rundown on the state of the rails across the motu in the lead-up to the 2025 budget on 22 May 2025 By @darrendavis.bsky.social via Adventures in Transitland: adventuresintransitland.substack.com/p/the-state-...

I love seeing a scheduled passenger train at Dunedin Railway Station for the four-day trial of a revived Southerner train. But this should be a daily occurrence, not once in a blue moon. #thefutureisrail

My latest post looks at the state of the rails across Aotearoa from Te Tai Tokerau/ Northland to Te Wai Pounamu/ South Island. Check it out. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

This is the first time a passenger train has stopped at Timaru Station since the Southerner stopped in 2002. I’m on the short-term revival of the Southerner but really wish it were permanent. #thefutureisrail

Fun public transport facts on Airport to city PT city centre connections (weekday interpeak with smart card): Christchurch - 3, 8, 29 bus, 8 per hr, $2 Auckland - bus/ train, 6 per hr, $6.25 Queenstown - 1 bus, 4 per hr, $2 Wellington - AX, 4 per hr, $8.76 Brisbane - train, 2 per hr, $22.30

Queensland, Australia is an interesting case study of the impact of super cheap flat public transport fares. Read on for my latest blog post on the subject. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

Queensland, Australia is an interesting case study of the impact of super cheap flat public transport fares. Read on for my latest blog post on the subject. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

The secret to making public transport work for suburbia is to make public transport work for suburbanites. This means good bus frequency and long span of bus service, all day, every day. Great case study from Brampton in the greater Toronto area. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Just eight months after its city centre & Sydenham extension opening, Sydney Metro is experiencing significant peak crowding, partly drawn off slower heavy rail services. Will be interesting to see the impact of its Bankstown extension in 2026. www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

The 2024-2027 Rail Network Investment Plan recently popped up unannounced on the KiwiRail website nine months late. It’s not good news for anywhere outside Auckland, Wellington & the Golden Triangle with the possible exception of Northland. Read my latest blog post. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

In SE Queensland, Translink is going to market for nine new bus routes as part of a $70 million package of improvements to bus services in Ipswich and Logan, with $24 million in ongoing annual opex. www.busnews.com.au/translink-op...

The 2024-2027 Rail Network Investment Plan recently popped up unannounced on the KiwiRail website nine months late. It’s not good news for anywhere outside Auckland, Wellington & the Golden Triangle with the possible exception of Northland. Read my latest blog post. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

Well worth checking out the video by @nerd4cities.bsky.social on my home town of Tāmaki Makaurau/ Auckland. For a smaller city, Auckland punches above its weight in public transport and placemaking, albeit with room for improvement. youtube.com/watch?v=bqer...

Pretty impressive to see how effective the bi-articulated buses known as Brisbane Metro are at quickly absorbing big surges in demand, such as lecture finish times at the University of Queensland.

In Brisbane, the Cross River Rail Roma Street Station is getting its roof installed. It looks like Auckland’s City Rail Link, where the stations are nearly complete, will open in 2026 well ahead of Cross River Rail.

Queensland’s 50 cent fares has led to significant patronage growth on both SE Queensland and regional networks, promoted social inclusion and been a boon for tourism hotspots like the Gold Coast. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...

Great to see work on Tāmaki Makaurau/ Auckland’s Third Main Line (& associated Middlemore Station upgrade) is looking closer to completion. Photo looking north from Puhinui Station.

Insightful piece by @greaterauckland.bsky.social on the use (and limits to usefulness) of gondolas as a mass transit option. Given that gondolas have popped up recently as a supposed solution to Queenstown’s transport challenges, very pertinent to Aotearoa/ NZ. open.substack.com/pub/greatera...

Yes, things are tough for sustainable transport in Aotearoa/ NZ at present. So more important than ever to celebrate the wins, such as the launch of electric train services from Pukekohe & accompanying local bus service improvements. As @urbanistfromwhk.bsky.social says, “better things are possible”

A reminder that Wellington was never designed for cars. Insisting on providing for the movement and roadside storage of cars necessarily means a negative impact on the character and urban form of NZ’s capital city. wellington.govt.nz/news-and-eve...

Check out my latest Adventures in Transitland musings, looking at regional Rail networks in New South Wales and Victoria. open.substack.com/pub/adventur...

Well worth checking out this video on rail developments in Canada in 2024 by @railfans.ca. Lots of progress on projects from Vancouver and Montréal and places in-between with a special shout out to the huge number of projects in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton area. youtu.be/H9IFLQKyyis?...

Great piece on a Hamilton Central station by @patrickreynolds.bsky.social in @greaterauckland.bsky.social This would help Hamilton city centre & regional rail. It could also use the platform on the East Coast Main Trunk Line at Hamilton Frankton Station. www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2025/01/13/h...

A whirlwind tour around the globe by @yfreemark.bsky.social of major public transport openings in 2024 and coming up in 2025, dominated by China and India with the US as a significant laggard. A veritable treasure trove for transit nerds. www.thetransportpolitic.com/2025/01/12/t...

From back in the day (until the late 1960s) when Meanjin/ Brisbane had a comprehensive tram network.

Interesting summary of transit expansion in the U.S. in 2024 & a look ahead to transit openings in 2025 by @yfreemark.bsky.social In 2024, the U.S. only added 29km of new urban rail transit but 2025 is looking brighter. Well worth a read. www.thetransportpolitic.com/2025/01/06/t...

A reminder that Brisbane got rid of its trams a lot later, in 1969, than many other anglosphere cities. But like other cities, it reallocated the space for trams to cars.