https://www.railjournal.com/regions/australia-nz/auckland-council-approves-order-for-caf-battery-electric-trains/
[image in online article]
Auckland approves order for battery-electric trains
Jul 27, 2017
Written by
Keith Barrow
AUCKLAND Council’s Finance and Performance Committee agreed in principle
on July 26 to go ahead with the purchase of 17 Independently-Powered
Electric Multiple Units (IPEMUs), which will replace DMUs on Auckland
Transport (AT) suburban services to Pukekohe and expand the fleet as
ridership grows.
The trains will operate under electric power between Britomart and
Papakura, where they will switch to battery mode for the remainder of
the journey to Pukekohe. At present passengers have to change from
electric to connecting diesel services at Papakura.
The three-car trains will be supplied by CAF, which built the city’s
fleet of 57 AM class suburban EMUs.
The business case, which was approved by the AT board in June 2017,
considered two options for the procurement. The first was to purchase 15
three-car EMUs at $NZ 133m ($US 100m). The second was to acquire 17
IPEMUs, which would be equipped with a battery system supplied by either
LG, Korea (total cost $NZ 174m) or CAF’s own system ($NZ 207m). CAF’s
solution was considered to be more well-developed and a lower risk than
the newer LG system, which was deemed to require further testing. The
CAF option was therefore adopted.
According to the business case, the operational cost saving from
eliminating DMU operation totals $NZ 67m.
An initial payment of up to $NZ 25m will need to be made by September to
ensure delivery of the first train in mid-2019. The procurement will
need to be approved by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) before
this payment can be made, and Auckland is seeking a commitment from the
Agency to provide at least 50% of the required funding.
According to the indicative delivery schedule, Pukekohe services will
switch to full IPEMU operation in December 2020, with full fleet
acceptance by January 2022.
Auckland’s suburban network has witnessed steady ridership growth since
the AM class EMUs entered service in 2013. The original business case
for the fleet anticipated patronage of 17.8 million in 2017 and 20.8
million in 2023. However, ridership rose by 17% in 2016-17 to 19.6
million, and is now forecast to reach its maximum 21.9 million capacity
by mid-2019.
A project is underway to optimise operations using the current fleet,
with a review of the seating layout and plans for a new timetable in
2018, which will reduce dwell times.
However, until the City Rail Link opens in 2023, there will be no
opportunities to increase frequencies at Britomart station in the city
centre. This means the only option will be to increase all remaining
three-car services to six cars.