Here’s the thing: Auckland City Rail Link is almost certainly going to be overcapacity from day one, with crowding on the trains at peak times. In the simple terms of popular transport discourse, it’s going to “fail” immediately.
While the CRL greatly increases the capacity of the network with many more train services being planned, it won’t have enough capacity to avoid rush-hour crowding, and it won’t provide as good a service as anyone could ask for. That’s because, like any other transport link, the CRL is subject to induced demand: the simple effect whereby making transport faster, easier and more accessible means more people use it.
But that perceived “failure” at the outset is exactly why it’s such a good project.
