Extended Christmas shutdown on Auckland rail network for major work

Auckland trains will not run for four weeks after Christmas to allow work on the troubled rail network, NZ Herald reports. Buses will replace trains on all lines from December 26 to January 16 and the eastern line will reopen in the last week using the Strand station in Parnell. KiwiRail expects to have more than 1000 people working across the network. Another 200 people will continue working on the $4.4 billion City Rail Link. “The Christmas shutdown allows us to get a huge amount of work done over a short period of time,” says KiwiRail’s David Gordon. “We thank Aucklanders for their understanding.”