Is the project future proofed? Auckland, of all places, knows exactly what happens when you build a big new project without understanding the likely future use. That’s what we did with the harbour bridge, which was at capacity almost as soon as it opened in 1959 and quickly needed four more lanes clipped to the sides. You can’t clip more lanes onto a tunnel. Meale said, “You only get one shot when you’re building underground.” True that. He added that the CRL will be a “hundred-year asset”. Which makes capacity an issue. The thing about that is, doubling the capacity of the existing lines is not a big target. As rail transit becomes the most appealing way for many people to get into and through the central city, demand will grow to far greater levels than that. This is something else we know in Auckland: when you build public transport, they do come. You’d be nuts not to think it will happen with the CRL. Meale talked at length about all this. “Future proofing”, he said, was a watchword. So I asked him, why are the platforms at Karangahape Station going to be only 150 metres long? “Why would they be longer?” he asked. I said that the current trains, when they have six units, are 144 metres, so if more units are added they’ll overhang the platforms. “Who’s talking about longer trains?” he said. But this is not a new idea. Auckland’s trains have always had the capacity to add extra units and many of the platforms on the current network are long enough to cope with that. I asked if that wasn’t part of the future proofing, to build in extra capacity by allowing for longer trains. “Longer trains?” he said. “They may be. That’s a decision for another day.” Not exactly a future proofing sort of thing to say. I asked him, why will Karangahape Station have only one entrance? (It’s going to be south of K Road, down Mercury Lane, just by where the Mercury Plaza is now.) He said the EOI requires allowance be made for a second entrance on Beresford Square, if it’s needed in the future. Yes, I said, but why not build it now? Meale doesn’t think it will ever be built. “We’ve modelled the demand. Everything we’ve looked at suggests we won’t need a second entrance.” Given that these days every prediction for public transport use in Auckland is quickly exceeded, this seemed bold. You don’t think it will ever be needed? “No.” As for Mercury Lane, passengers will have quite a steep walk up the street to K Road. I asked why there won’t be escalators rising to Karangahape Rd itself. “That’s not a difficult walk,” he said. “It’s good for you.” Not difficult for him or me, perhaps, but moderately fit adults are not exactly the benchmark for ease of use. He and Carol Greensmith both talked about how because of space and heritage issues it was relatively easy to build on Mercury Lane but not on Beresford Square. In the end, Meale said, “We took the line of least resistance.” We’re getting what’s easier, and it isn’t the same as what’s better. - thespinoff.co.nz