A damaged cable was causing major delays on Auckland's
southern and eastern train networks this morning.
This morning's delays came after hundreds of commuters were
held up getting home last night when a signal failure stopped
trains and left passengers stranded at the Britomart
transport hub in the CBD.
Veolia Transport Auckland said a cable was cut overnight,
affecting all train services between Pukekohe and Puhinui
this morning.
"As a result limited services are running on this section of
track and major delays are likely to be experienced as the
peak travel period approaches," Veolia said in a statement.
"This affects all Southern Line passengers and delays and
full capacity carriages are expected on the Manukau/Eastern
Lines. These services will be running as they can and not on
the published timetable. Western and Onehunga Line services
are not affected and are running to timetable."
Commuters were advised to seek alternative transport.
Last night's fault happened about 6.30pm at the end of
peak-hour traffic, causing people to pour out of the station
searching for buses and taxis. An announcement at Britomart
said services had been stopped due to a signal failure in
Wellington.
However, Kiwirail said it was an Auckland-based problem and
not a repeat of a problem in April which crippled Auckland's
rail network.
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