The rail plan Auckland Transport spent two years trying to keep secret

Auckland Council’s transport agency mounted a serious effort to create a new, single entity to run the city’s rail network and the freight and commuter services which use it, Stuff reports. The secret plan, codenamed “Project Ridge”, is outlined in documents which Auckland Transport (AT) withheld for 20 months. It was released after intervention from the Chief Ombudsman. A key shift in the plan was that the network would be geared-up to the needs of passenger rail – the dominant user – which demands a higher standard of track and infrastructure.