Government pledge for trains and rail track upgrades for Wairarapa and Manawatū welcomed

A delighted Daran Ponter and Penny Gaylor at Ōtaki Railway Station.

The Government’s funding commitment for a fleet of hybrid-electric passenger trains is “hugely exciting”, Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) Kāpiti representative Penny Gaylor said.

The Government, in a pre-Budget announcement, has agreed to co-fund 18 four-car trains and upgrade rail tracks for the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines.

Gaylor was thrilled with the funding for the new fleet which would be “a huge game-changer for the Ōtaki community”.

“This is the biggest win I’ve experienced in my time as a local representative.

“For many of us, it has been over a decade of community campaigning and local government advocacy, starting with the campaign to save the Capital Connection, our one and only train that stops at Ōtaki as it runs from Palmerston North to Wellington each weekday morning.

“In the last five years GWRC has taken on that advocacy and elevated it to a pitch to get all-new trains and expand the services to more options for Ōtaki.

“In my first term on GWRC, $70 million was secured in GWRC’s budget. That commitment from GWRC formed the basis for our bid to Government for them to fund the rest of the investment. We were showing we would do our part to support this huge investment. We then developed a business case to demonstrate the economic benefits.

“As a local Ōtaki resident I know that this is a huge and welcome investment for our community.

“I’m feeling a huge relief and it’s incredibly exciting.”

She said a lot of regional council effort had gone into the bid and praised chair Daran Ponter, who had taken the lead and “lobbied relentlessly”.

“And a government agency hasn’t done this bid - a council has done this bid.

“It’s very much our thing that we’ve been doing and we’ve worked really tightly with Horizons [Regional Council] through the years.”

GWRC chair Daran Ponter was thrilled for commuters and the climate.

“The current fleet of diesel trains are 50 years old and at the end of their working life. The Government’s funding vindicates the efforts of many at Greater Wellington and Horizons who poured untold hours into a business case that shows real and measurable benefits for communities, mode shift, resilience, public transport attractiveness, road safety, as well as the economic benefits of linking up more of the lower North Island,” Ponter said.

He said the case predicted the new trains would quadruple peak-time services between Palmerston North and Wellington on the Manawatū line and double them between Masterton and the capital on the Wairarapa line.

“The new trains will revolutionise life for commuters in the Wairarapa, Hutt Valley, Manawatū, Horowhenua and Kāpiti, who need access to Wellington, Porirua and Palmerston North.”

Kāpiti Coast District Council mayor Janet Holborow said the investment “will significantly improve the reliability and efficiency of passenger rail services, making it easier for Kāpiti residents to engage in employment and education opportunities and access critical support services across the region”.

“This has been the result of strong advocacy by Greater Wellington Regional Council and it’s great to see the Government taking action on reducing emissions, increasing network capacity, and improving the resilience of our rail network. Supporting growth along the rail corridor by improving transport connections is critical for our environment and our people and this investment in passenger rail services is welcomed.”

Kāpiti councillor and long-time climate advocate Sophie Handford said the funding was “a big step in the right direction”.

“Investing in commuter rail is paramount and presents an opportunity for addressing the intersections of social and environmental challenges - fostering communities which are connected, resilient and low-emissions,” Handford said.

Meanwhile, a reduced schedule and 70km/h speed restrictions on the Wellington metro train network could be lifted soon.

KiwiRail’s one-and-only specialist track evaluation car, which measures tracks so trains can operate safely, needed mechanical work in Auckland.

“It’s not clear how long KiwiRail have known about this but to only give Wellington three or four days’ notice before the restrictions were in place is simply ludicrous,” Ponter said.

“It’s put significant pressure on Metlink staff to roll out new timetables, our operator Transdev to re-roster staff, and our rail and connecting bus passengers - whose lives will be tipped upside down.”

Fortunately, Kiwirail fixed the track evaluation car during the weekend before it travelled south to start assessing the network tonight.

“KiwiRail infrastructure crews are ready to urgently repair any track issues that may be found,” KiwiRail chief operations officer Siva Sivapakkiam said.

“We expect the entire Wellington metro network to have been assessed by the end of Friday.

“I apologise to the people of the Wellington region for this disruption.

“We are working as hard as we can to get the work done, so that services can return to normal as quickly as possible.”

The track evaluation car has to work at night when other trains are not running on the network.