Jane Thistlethwaite said that with a few tweaks to the model, it will be just as viable as driving a car to Auckland.
"Excellent progress. Once people get the mindset train travel is frequent and timely enough for them they will park cars and ride by train. If other countries can adjust to this so can NZ," Ms Thistlethwaite said.
"We have to support it in order for it to remain.
"But it must be regular, cost effective, some direct services and others with intermediary stops."
Mark Delport said that $40 was a reasonable price, although was concerned about the price of the park and ride in Hamilton.
"Personally I travel to Auckland once a week. I drive a hybrid so really cheap on fuel around $15 per round trip. It is a bit of a blessing that I do not need to pay for parking. So I think $40 is well worth it.
"The question is how much will parking be in Hamilton to catch the train," Mr Delport said.