High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Auckland railway electrification has been proposed for several decades, but physical works only began in the late 2000s. After investment into new infrastructure and improved services created massive patronage gains on Auckland`s diesel commuter network in the middle 2000s, the long-discussed electrification project was finally funded (though still with a few false starts) from a combination of regional (Auckland Regional Council, later Auckland Council) and Crown (national) budgets.