A spokesperson from Waikato Regional Council said the service had 7120 monthly passengers in March, an average of 263 per day, up from a weather-affected February that saw only 3820 passengers ride Te Huia.
The train does not run on public holidays or Sundays.
In a release, WRC said the additional services were part of an enhancement plan developed by the council with partners in late 2021 and had been due to roll out in October 2022. Services were initially delayed by the start of the Papakura to Pukekohe electrification project and the Auckland Rail Network Rebuild programme.
The new day return services were instead due to start at the end of this month, pending KiwiRail obtaining approval of an updated safety case from rail regulator Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, and on KiwiRail’s ability to deliver the increased service levels.
Councillors heard that safety case approval had not yet been received, and there was now a shortage of locomotive engineers (train drivers) which meant KiwiRail could not currently support the planned increase in services.
The shortage of locomotive engineers is due to a number of unexpected resignations, planned retirements, unplanned early retirements, and more people taking jobs offshore following the reopening of borders.
The result is attrition rates higher than the long-run average. While KiwiRail has successfully recruited additional locomotive engineers, it takes up to two years to train a driver to operate passenger services, councillors were told.
It means the additional Te Huia services may not be achievable until June 2024 – however, a review in October this year will look at whether the additional services could start sooner in 2024.
Waikato regional transport committee deputy chair Angela Strange said: “Patronage levels continue to be strong, and we’ve been gaining momentum, providing real certainty for people travelling regularly between Hamilton and Auckland.
“Adding services and enhancements has always been part of our plan to scale up patronage over time. So this is a bitterly disappointing delay, especially for our passengers who’ve been very vocal in telling us they want extra services,” Cr Strange said.
Te Huia notched up its two-year anniversary at the start of April. Despite Covid-19 cancellations and the impacts of multiple projects and maintenance works in Auckland, it has moved 86,581 passengers in that time. Three-quarters of them were in the past year alone, removing more than 50,000 car trips from the road between Hamilton and Auckland.
KiwiRail general manager scenic journeys and commuter rail Tracey Goodall said she shared the disappointment felt by the partner councils and Waikato passengers.
“KiwiRail is very proud to operate Te Huia and it has been great to see the solid passenger growth it has experienced since it started back in 2021.
“Te Huia means a lot to people from the Waikato. We have been working with Waikato Regional Council to make improvements to the service, including carriage upgrades so that it can run using a single locomotive – freeing up the other locomotive for new inter-peak trains.
“We are actively recruiting more locomotive engineers, but it does take up to two years to get the experience needed to drive trains, so there is a lag to get past the current shortage.
“This situation is unfortunate, however, we remain committed to introducing inter-peak services as soon as we can, including reviewing the situation this October to work out if we can make the additional services happen sooner for Waikato.”
