National's transport spokesman Michael Woodhouse said the Government is losing money hand over fist on a project no one asked for. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He said when the service launched, there was a lot of fanfare with MPs and officials on the first trip.
When the service launched in March, Waikato Regional Council chair Russ Rimmington was adamant it would not become a ghost train – even going as far as saying he would give away tickets, if necessary.
But Woodhouse said the numbers paint a very different picture.
"The reason it's not [very popular] is because it's not a service people see as a service that's better than the alternatives."
Transport Minister Michael Wood has defended the project, saying although the numbers are low now, they will grow.
He confirmed the passenger numbers were accurate and said this was broadly in line with what had been expected.
"This is a five-year start-up service – we anticipated it would start off with relatively modest numbers."
But he said as it builds up, in terms of people's awareness of the train line as a service, those numbers would improve over time.
He wasn't worried about the low revenue.
"The Government subsidises most parts of our transport system."
