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There is one good reason why Aucklanders don’t commute by rail. It’s slow. But just how slow is it? To find out, I decided to run against a commuter train over a 7 km distance to see who was fastest.
Here’s the scenario. I live in Kingsland, and recently I’ve been working at premises right by Ellerslie Racecourse in Greenlane. And this week my car is being serviced. These circumstances have given me the opportunity to experiment with alternative ways to travel at the start and end of the day.
My first choice of non-car transport is always to run. I like running. If my travel distance is less than about 8 km, I will generally choose to run.
I like trains (I used to live in Tokyo, see). However, living in Auckland provides few opportunities to catch the train. We only have 3 train lines in the city, serving a very small percentage of the population. It is very unlikely that your origin and destination points will both be within a short distance of a train station. But I am one of the lucky few these days: my home and my daytime destination are both 5 minutes walk from a station. A rare event and one that should be taken advantage of.
On Wednesday I would run to and from Greenlane, and on Thursday I would catch the train.
The crucial part of running cross-town is always selecting the shortest route. Here’s how I ran between Kingsland and Greenlane:
The door-to-door distance is 7.5km; from Kingsland to Greenlane stations is 6.5km.
Here’s something a little strange. When you use the rail journey planner to select your trip across town, the first option the service provider gives is for you to walk. Hmmm…when you specifically ask for train services, the first thing they suggest is that you walk. A vote of no confidence in their own service? A brag that trains are faster than walking?
Race results:
Morning:
Door-to-door, the run took 40 minutes, and the train took 58 minutes
From Kingsland station to Greenlane station: run 33 minutes; train 39 minutes
Evening:
Door-to-door, the run took 38 minutes, and the train took 43 minutes
From Kingsland station to Greenlane station: run 31 minutes; train 28 minutes
What does this all mean?
It was the time spent waiting that ruined the train's chance of victory
What else does this mean?
You can't win a race against a long-distance train
Why was running faster?
1. The train couldn't beat me because of the necessary transfer of trains at Newmarket station. It took too long for me to walk between stations and then wait for a train.
2. For most commuters, the train is too slow because of the distance they have to travel just to get to a station.
Which method of travel is better overall?
That’s an easy one. Running at the start or end of the day, or both, is such a worthwhile experience. Especially if you are sitting down in front of a computer for some hours. Just being able to get out at the end of the day and get fresh air and get moving is very valuable. And in the morning too it gets the metabolism going and gets oxygen and blood flowing. It’s hard to beat that.
Running to commute everyday - 15 km a day and 75 km a week – will not work for me: it will be too hard on my ankles and knees. Although now that I have found an interesting running route I’m quite sure that a couple of times a week I’ll run for as long as I’m based here.
And as long as I remain faster than the train.
Enjoy your running, and commuting.
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