Auckland Regional Transport Authority

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ARTA Logo.

ARTA (Auckland Regional Transport Authority) is the Auckland Regional Council's transport planning and funding agency. It was established in 2004 to provide a single responsibility agency to co-ordinate regulation, planning and contracting of public transport and co-ordination of local roading funding in the Auckland region. ARTA is under the umbrella of the Auckland Regional Council (ARC), and about half of the ARC's rates go to fund public transport via ARTA.^[1] ARTA co-ordinates public transport under the MAXX brand.

1 Rail Projects
- 1.1 DART
- 1.2 Network extension proposals
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Rail Projects

ARTA also finances services like Auckland's ferry system, ferry to West Harbour shown.

Main article: Public transport in Auckland

[edit] DART

ONTRACK is currently undertaking Project DART (Developing Auckland's Rail Transport network) in association with ARTA to upgrade Auckland's rail network, signalling and train station platforms and buildings. The budget for the project is $600 million^[2], and includes:

Double-tracking the Western line as far as Swanson;
Redeveloping Newmarket station and the associated junction;
Improving signalling on all routes to allow more frequent services
Building the Wiri - Manukau Branch linking Manukau City centre to the rail network.
Reopening the Onehunga Branch line^[3]

[edit] Network extension proposals

On 13 March 2007 the Government announced that it had given approval to ONTRACK to spend $10 million reopening the Onehunga branch for passengers and freight^[3]. There are proposals to extend the line south to Auckland International Airport and north from Southdown to Avondale.

There have also been proposals to extend commuter rail services to Kumeu and Helensville on the North Auckland Line in the west, and to Hamilton on the North Island Main Trunk line in the south.

Services are likely to start running to Manukau City centre in 2010 when a branch line to be built from Puhinui is completed in conjunction with the State Highway 20 Manukau motorway extension project.