Enthusiasm for public rail in Whanganui continues to build steam with Save Our Trains meeting

Around 80 people attended the Save Our Trains meeting in Whanganui.

A meeting organised by Save Our Trains in Whanganui showed the appetite for bringing passenger rail back to the district continues to build steam.

The group has been organising similar meetings in regions across the country to talk with residents about what bringing rail back to their regions could look like.

Save Our Trains spokesperson Paul Callister was one of the speakers at the event and was joined by Green MP Julie Anne Genter, Horizons Regional Council chairwoman Rachel Keedwell and public transport advocate Anthonie Tonnon.

The 80 people in attendance were aspirational about the potential future, but also realistic about how bringing trains back to the city would take time, Callister said.

“We had a really lively discussion. It was a great evening,” he said.

“It’s a slow process because you’ve got to go through your different plans, your District Plans, your Horizons plans, your Government plan - it’s all incredibly complicated.”

People agreed in the meantime, perhaps the best option the city had was a daily long-distance bus service to Waikanae to connect with the existing rail infrastructure.

“The number of people there on a cold Tuesday night shows that people care about this,” Whanganui’s James Barron said.

Barron said many in attendance were curious about what rail could bring to the city, and the steps it would take to bring a passenger network here.

“People were just along to find out more and find out what the possibilities are for rail,” he said.

Callister said work was being done to establish a Whanganui Save Our Trains group, which would continue this advocacy work going forward.

“We’ve been doing that all around New Zealand, the small towns and small cities, so the groups will form and they can start lobbying themselves for that,” Callister said.