Eden Park train delays: 'We need to make sure that it's fixed'

Auckland Transport has done a rapid review after train delays left hundreds of fans waiting to get home from Saturday's All Blacks game at Eden Park.The chief executive of Eden Park is calling for rail platform upgrades and a pedestrian footbridge across Sandringham Road to prevent delays for fans.Auckland Transport said about 15,000 people used rail to get to and from the game, but a delay to a level crossing closure stopped trains on the east-west line, leaving hundreds of people waiting at Kingsland Station.Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson told Checkpoint it was clear there was a meeting needed between the council, Auckland Transport and Eden Park to prevent delays from happening at future events."There are a couple of things that I think we can do that would make life easier... one thing was people didn't know what platform to be on."Saturday saw trains on one platform going towards Otahuhu, and the other going to the city centre, unlike the Warriors game three weeks earlier with all trains headed in the same direction, Simpson said.The level crossing at Morningside was also supposed to be blocked off so trains could back up and be ready to keep coming, but that crossing was not shut as intended.Simpson said it did not matter whose responsibility it was to shut the crossing, but ultimately something had to be done to make sure the same disruptions did not happen again."I think collectively, all parties - it's Eden Park, Auckland Transport and council - we need to make sure that it's fixed. I'm not here to sort of put blame in one direction or the other."While the delays were "unfortunate", Simpson said the plan to get it right had been there, it was just the execution that had fallen short.She said they had expected people to be excited about using the trains with the new addition of the CRL, but with so many people trying to hop on board things didn't go as planned."I don't think as many people actually used the events buses as normally happens."There was a bit of a risk profile around that which wasn't executed properly, and a few other things like some signage and some better directions so people knew what platform they needed to be on."Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner told Morning Report the connectivity between Eden Park and the rail network had not improved in a decade, despite investment in the City Rail Link."We've invested in a $6 billion CRL but the adjacent infrastructure, whether it be the level crossings or platform upgrade and a footbridge into Kingsland, needs urgent attention."Sautner said the Morningside level crossing should be moved to either above or below ground to reduce future disruption.Simpson said discussions were being had around updating the crossing, but there were pros and cons."I think when it comes to events [and] closing the level crossings so the trains can back up, I think that's something that definitely needs to be executed correctly."While she said a footbridge was an option, the money had to come from somewhere, and it would not happen overnight."We have the Black Caps coming at the end of the month, we've got Robbie Williams here in November, we've got Guns N' Roses here in December, and we need to be prepared for those three events so people can access Eden Park safely by bus, event buses and by train."The area is growing, so we need infrastructure improvements around that place as well."