Australian contractor UGL and Singaporean transport operator ComfortDelGro Transit have been chosen by Auckland Transport to oversee the New Zealand city’s passenger rail network.
UGL, a subsidiary of Cimic Group, said in a press statement that the deal would earn it US$420m over the initial contract term of eight years.
UGL and ComfortDelGro Transit will take on a number of responsibilities, including the provision of train staff, the development of timetables, station operations and maintenance, security, customer service, and management of the Auckland Network Access Agreement and KiwiRail interface.
In addition, rolling stock maintenance will be delivered by the joint venture from 2025.
Juan Santamaria, Cimic’s chief executive, said: “Cimic Group and UGL are pleased to support the city of Auckland by improving public transport as it strives to be one of the world’s most liveable cities. UGL will apply its experience gained in operating and integrating rail systems and maintaining rolling stock and other support systems for essential transport networks, to the Auckland rail network.”
Doug Moss, the managing director of UGL, added that his company was Australasia’s largest rail services operator and maintainer, with contracts in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Canberra.
Cimic is a subsidiary of Spanish contract ACS.
Image: An AM 103 model train at Puhinui station in Auckland (Pcuser42/CC BY-SA 3.0)
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