Capital's roads and rail get $225m extra

The Government will inject an extra $225 million into Wellington transport in the next 10 years but ratepayers are going to be asked to dig deep too.

The package announced by Finance Minister Michael Cullen and Transport Minister Pete Hodgson yesterday will bring the total amount of transport money available in the region in the next decade to almost $850 million.

Money already marked for the region includes about $380 million from the petrol-tax-funded national transport budget, about $220 million from a regional petrol tax fund and a previously announced one-off payment of $25 million to refurbish Wairarapa's train carriages.

Mr Hodgson said the first priority was significantly to improve the public transport network.

"We're talking mainly but not exclusively about trains."

The cost of public transport is usually shared 60-40 between Land Transport NZ and ratepayers.

"We're saying the infrastructure deficit is significantly severe that we want to assist with the local share of 40 per cent," Mr Hodgson said.

However, he would not reveal how much of the ratepayers' share the Government would pick up.

The regional land transport strategy earmarks $26 million for carriage refurbishment and $148 million for new carriages, as well as $30 million for new buses and improved services. But the strategy is under review and those figures are likely to change.

Greater Wellington chairman Ian Buchannan said the council would take the funding issue to the public next month.

"The region will be asked to pay a share ... as will fare-paying passengers."

To significantly raise the rate take, the council was required by law to have the support of its ratepayers, he said.

Wellington regional land transport committee chairman Terry McDavitt said the region had more transport money than ever and it needed to ensure it was not wasted.

"We've created a huge pile of money ... the real problem now is to get people to get on with it."

Green Party Wellington transport spokeswoman Sue Kedgley said the money was welcome, especially the $65 million to upgrade the network.

Spending on public transport was much better for Wellington than on roads such as the motorway inner-city bypass, which the Greens oppose.

"I am glad to see roading proposals focused on smoothing out bottlenecks and conflicts rather than on grand motorways."

Government officials working on the funding package had earlier identified a $728 million shortfall for the next decade but that figure included money to start fixing the northern access problems.

Mr Hodgson said that would be looked at after the results of a joint Transit NZ-Greater Wellington regional council study were known, probably in April.

The study would look at whether the region should go ahead and build a new $830 million inland motorway through Transmission Gully or turn the existing highway into four lanes.

A package of options would be put out to public consultation this year.

Also on hold were improvements to the main trunk rail line north of Wellington to Waikanae, he said, as they too were included in the study.

The package

* Spending in the Wellington region will total almost $850 million in the next decade.

* It does not, however, include money to solve Wellington's northern access woes, which are still under study.

* Of the new money, $100 million will go to solving road congestion, $65 million on upgrading the existing public transport system (especially rail carriages), $30 million on new public transport initiatives, and $30 million on getting traffic off the roads, including cycleways.

- NZPA