The ARTA Years 2004 – 2010 - Auckland Transport

to own and maintain the stations. This was the situation ARTA stepped into in
2004. Launching the Rail Development Plan in August 2006 was a step in the
direction of changing both Auckland’s transport development and the shape of
the region’s urban development. The plan presented a strong business case
for electrifying the network.
Implementing the plan required buy-in at both regional and national levels,
particularly as it incorporated a business case for electrifying Auckland’s rail
network (see page 34 for more). The number of stakeholders involved has
meant persistence and dedicated effort being required to give effect to an
extensive programme of work — from rolling stock, signalling, train carriage
refurbishment, station upgrades, new stations and electrification of the network.
The significant results of that work are detailed on pages 15 to 18.
ARTNL’s assets were transferred to ARTA in October 2007, by an Order In
Council.
The innovative Auckland Transport Plan 2007/2009
The 2007 Auckland Transport Plan (ATP) became a landmark for forward
planning in Auckland transport. As the region’s 10-year planning document,
applied within a longer-term context, it set out — for the first time — one
cohesive programme of work. It unified the strategies, plans and projects
of every stakeholder agency and all the modes of travel, harnessing the
role that transport can play in delivering a broad set of economic, social and
environmental outcomes for the region.
The ATP has encouraged cooperative action between all the agencies involved
and priorisiting of funding. It is the main mechanism for transforming the policies
and strategies in the RLTS into action. The ATP 2009 replaced this flagship
document and requires funding in excess of $22 billion to achieve both the
10-year and key long-term projects such as the CBD Rail Loop and rail to the
airport. It aims to raise awareness of the major funding challenges faced by the
region.
Prioritising funding and projects
Auckland has had to make trade-offs, given that funding for transport has
consistently fallen short of and delayed projects required to meet both national
and regional targets. In order to ensure that best use was made of scarce
funds, ARTA was legally required to make a statement about its view of the land
transport priorities in the region, including the priorities of other organisations.
We have then recommended which projects should receive a subsidy from the
National Land Transport Programme.
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