Auckland tunnel waste may be used to double-track Waikato rail line

A great move. The Whangamarino wetland or swamp section is the only part except for the rail bridge at Ngaruawahia that is not double tracked. Double tracking between Hamilton and Auckland and the addition of the 4th freight line in Auckland will speed up freight and regional passenger train services between the two cities. The next step is to electrify the section from Papakura to Hamilton. At there are some people are thinking outside the square.

Auckland is built on a volcanic field.It will mostly be igneous rock

I really cant understand how anyone would describe a vitally important infrastructure upgrade that will allow dozens of freight trains everyday to travel at max speed instead of a crawl, as a white elephant. Unfortunately archaic attitudes like this have hampered development in this country for decades.

Did you not read the article?The Whangamarino double-track option would allow KiwiRail to limit its effect on Auckland city congestion by sending trucks a short jump to the Ports of Auckland, where the spoil would be transferred to rail and carted south.

Another who didnt read the story. The bit about how the trucks would dump the spoil at the port for rail transport to where required and take trucks off the roads.

Did you read the story? Kiwirail idea, Tainui benefit as long as it meets their iwi and conservation tenets.

No need to, its possible to run trains on narrow gauge track at much faster speeds than we currently do. Its all about the design of the track and the trains.

Theres already a track separated design half built through here ...its visible in the top photo to the right of the existing track .... wouldnt take much to clean it up and lay some track.... the real issue about using spoil from CRL (aside from its suitability) is the distance and unless its railed its cost prohibitive .... In NZ there will be usable material close to the project site ... Depends if there is already a plan for the CRL spoil ???? sound like there isnt ... but the 4th main will also require fill and is a lot closer ...and of course theres always all those old quarry pits around Auckland requiring filling freeing up future valuable housing land!!!

About time

What idea by Tainui?

Great idea. Finally someone is thinkingHope they see reality re the rail link to the airport and give us a skytrain too. So much faster than the tram like thing they are proposing.

No, the current gauge is suitable.

You're correct about the tunnel spoil being ˜clay-like'. The tunnels will be predominantly driven through the sedimentary East Coast Bays Formation and the spoil will emerge from the TBM with consistency somewhat similar to toothpaste. Absolute slops. (I hope they have several hundred acres available where this poop can be dried out prior to use as fill.) It is excellent material when dried and used under well controlled conditions.

Not from Puhinui it wont.

Kids today will be seeing white elephants being built everywhere.Youre not wrong there - the can see the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway extension and the National Convention Centre in Auckland under construction at the moment.

What about the ducks??? They need their swamp.

Right - 450 trucks a day?! Cant they rail the rock down down there.. wouldnt this make more sense that having 450 trucks navigate Auckland city and the southern motorway?

Great idea by Tainui, will take longer, but it will be like The Base and the Internal Ruakura Port

Heavy rail to the airport would cost $1 billion more than the proposed Light Rail Transit (excluding the city to Onehunga section) and alternative serve fewer places along the way that dont already have access to rail.

What about all that extra damage to the roads, congestion, and the trucks are just sitting there waiting work.