Ruapehu leads push for North Island passenger rail

The Raurimu spiral is the North Island main trunk line's biggest engineering feat. Photo / Supplied

Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron is leading a group of councils that want a passenger rail service between Auckland and Wellington.

The service would cost about $1 billion to set up. It would need to be heavily subsidised and it could eventually run twice or three times a day.

A 30-page feasibility study by a project management consultant went to Transport Minister Michael Wood before Christmas, Cameron said.

The next stage will be a business case.

Getting the service going could take years, but Cameron said climate change and the need to curb emissions from transport make this a good time to get started.

Meanwhile rail freight is booming, and the Northern Explorer tourist train running between Auckland and Wellington has been "paused" since the level 4 lockdown in August reduced tourist numbers.

It will probably run again in mid-2022, with possible timetable changes to allow for overnight packages.

Ruapehu's Horizons councillor Weston Kirton believes the Northern Explorer should be reinstated as a dual purpose tourist and passenger train, with stops at more stations.

Horizons councillor Weston Kirton is angry that the Northern Explorer is "parked up" and not providing central North Island transport. Photo / John Chapman

But Cameron said a whole new service would be needed for passengers. And KiwiRail corporate affairs manager Usman Pervais said passenger and tourist trains are completely different.

Tourist trains move slowly and don't stop much. They are not subsidised by government and ticket sales have to cover their costs. KiwiRail's three tourist trains have made a loss of almost $10 million in 2021, a KiwiRail statement says.

Passenger trains have to move fast and stop a lot. They are never profitable and even city commuter services have to be subsidised.

There are two interregional passenger trains in the North Island, Pervais said. They are Te Huia between Auckland and Hamilton and The Capital Connection between Palmerston North and Wellington.

Both are operated on behalf of regional councils and subsidised by Waka Kotahi and local authorities.

KiwiRail is interested in running an Auckland-Wellington passenger service, if it can be viable.

But, like Cameron, Pervais said there are a lot of stages to get through first.

A new North Island passenger rail service could operate daily or three times daily, and could eventually extend to New Plymouth, Whanganui and up into Northland, Cameron said.

The Ruapehu mayor said the service would cost about $1b to set up, and would need to be heavily subsidised to keep fares affordable and pull in users - especially at the beginning.

It would have free Wi-Fi, good food and windows for enjoying scenery, Cameron said.

It would need more rail built for parking loops, and councils would need to refurbish unused stations and provide transport into town. If the remainder of the North Island's main trunk line is not electrified the service would need tri-modal engines that work on different voltages or use generators.

Another reason for getting started now, Cameron said, is that the Wairarapa and Capital Connection services needed an upgrade.

The rolling stock for that could be bought at the same time as stock for the new service.

Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron. Photo / Bevan Conley

A revamped passenger train crossing the North Island has been talked of with Horizons Regional Council, Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail for two years.

Cameron gathered all the councils along the North Island main trunk line in a zoom meeting in October 2020, and they said they wanted to go further.

Each contributed $2000 for a feasibility study produced by Arnaud Deutsch of RPS, a project management consultancy.

A small group, including Horizons councillor Sam Ferguson, will meet to talk about moving to the next stage - a business case.

It will be bigger than the feasibility study and include cost, demand, competition, timeframes and the economic development prospects the service would bring to the regions.

Once the business case is complete the councils will add the service to their transport plans and approach the government for Waka Kotahi funding.

Cameron hopes the group can meet Transport Minister Michael Wood before the end of January.