Good afternoon Graeme

I'm replying to your request for information, submitted through the FYI website.
I'm based in the Official Communications Unit (OCU), and will be processing your request under the Official Information Act.

On behalf of KiwiRail I'd like to acknowledge receipt of your request dated 30 July 2019, for information on the Government's announcement on the possible upgrade of the Waitakere tunnel for train use.

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 31 July 2019, being 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me at this email address. If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these can be taken into account.

Kind regards

Dave

Dave Allard | Government Relations Advisor Level4, Wellington Railway Station, Bunny Street, Wellington 6011 | PO Box 593, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

www.kiwirail.co.nz

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The content of this message and any attachments may be privileged or confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete the email - unauthorised use is expressly prohibited. This email may have been corrupted or interfered with. KiwiRail does not warrant that this email and its contents are free from computer viruses or other defects.

-----Original Message-----
From: Graeme Hammonds [mailto:[FOI #10667 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2019 10:25 AM
To: KiwiRail
Subject: Official Information request - Wiatakere Tunnel upgrade for transport link to Kumeu etc.

Dear KiwiRail, I am a committee member of the Kumeu/ Huapai Residents and Ratepayer Association dealing with transport issues. We have been trying for a long time to find the real answers as to why the Waitakere Tunnel can't either be electrified or used for a shuttle train.
With this in mind can you answer the following questions.

1. It has been stated that the tunnel is too narrow or not high enough for electrification. Is this correct could you provide the details including a comparison with the Parnell tunnel which was lowered 35 centimetres to accomodate the electric trains. I can find no details of these tunnels dimensions on the net.
2. We have been told that diesel units cannot use the tunnel because of the safety requirements post Cave Creek. Is this correct and if so can the units be set up with fire protection gear needed to comply?
3.Do you have any reports done on this Waitakere Tunnel that you could supply to us including costings etc. If so could you provide us with them?

We really need to clarify the above so we can inform our Communities .

Yours faithfully, Graeme Hammonds

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Good afternoon Graeme

Official information request for information on electrification of
Waitakere tunnel

I refer to your official information request dated 3 July 2019, for
information on the Waitakere tunnel.

The OIA requires that we advise you of our decision on your request no
later than 20 working days after the day we received your request.
Unfortunately, it will not be possible to meet that time limit and I am
emailing to notify you of an extension of the time to make our decision,
to 9 August 2019.

This extension is necessary to enable appropriate consultation about the
proposed release, and to confirm the accuracy of the information
requested.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request, including this
decision, please feel free to contact me at this email address.

Kind regards

Dave

 

Regards

Official Correspondence Unit

KiwiRail”

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/

Good afternoon

 

Please find attached KiwiRail’s response to your OIA request.

 

Kind regards

 

Dave

 

 

Dave Allard  | Government Relations Advisor

Level 4, Wellington Railway Station, Bunny Street, Wellington 6011 | PO
Box 593, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

[1]Description: Description: cid:image001.png@01D46098.E77643D0

[2]www.kiwirail.co.nz

 

Please consider the environment before printing

 

The content of this message and any attachments may be privileged or
confidential. If you
have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete the
email - unauthorised
use is expressly prohibited. This email may have been corrupted or
interfered with. KiwiRail
does not warrant that this email and its contents are free from computer
viruses or other defects.

 

 

References

Visible links
2. http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/

Good afternoon Graeme.

The height of the Parnell tunnel is approximately 6.15m from the centre of the tracks to the centre of the portal.
Clearances are approximately 4.8m from the side of the rails to the roof.

As noted in our previous response, please note that this is not a pure like for like comparison, and there will be other factors that would need to be considered prior to any move towards electrification. Factors that would need to be considered as part of lowering a tunnel include, but are not restricted to excavatability, the presence of groundwater, the strength of floor materials, and structural stability.

There have not been any detailed studies completed on the Waitakere tunnel.

Kind regards

Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Graeme Hammonds [mailto:[FOI #10667 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 7 August 2019 5:24 p.m.
To: David Allard
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Waitakere Tunnel upgrade for transport link to Kumeu etc.

Dear David Allard, Thank you for the information, I understand that the Parnell Tunnel has a different profile and is double tracked but I would still like to have the height of the tunnel from rail to tunnel roof as this would indicate if the Waitakere Tunnel could be electrified. Also could you confirm that neither Kiwi Rail or Auckland Transport have instigated a report on this Waitakere Tunnel.

Arohanui

Graeme Hammonds

-----Original Message-----

Good afternoon Graeme

I'm replying to your request for information, submitted through the FYI website.
I'm based in the Official Communications Unit (OCU), and will be processing your request under the Official Information Act.

On behalf of KiwiRail I'd like to acknowledge receipt of your request dated 30 July 2019, for information on the Government's announcement on the possible upgrade of the Waitakere tunnel for train use.

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 31 July 2019, being 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me at this email address. If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these can be taken into account.

Kind regards

Dave

Dave Allard | Government Relations Advisor Level4, Wellington Railway Station, Bunny Street, Wellington 6011 | PO Box 593, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

www.kiwirail.co.nz

Please consider the environment before printing

The content of this message and any attachments may be privileged or confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete the email - unauthorised use is expressly prohibited. This email may have been corrupted or interfered with. KiwiRail does not warrant that this email and its contents are free from computer viruses or other defects.

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #10667 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

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