Paul Callister and Patrick Rooney are campaigning to bring passenger trains back through the Tararua District. Photo / Leanne Warr
Paul Callister and Patrick Rooney are campaigning to bring passenger trains back through the Tararua District. Photo / Leanne Warr
It’s been more than 20 years since passenger train services stopped in the Tararua District.
Now a group is campaigning to bring those trains back, and they need the help of local residents to do so.
Patrick Rooney and Paul Callister held meetings in Woodville and Dannevirke to talk to people about the campaign and how residents can help “from the bottom up”.
What started the campaign was an announcement by KiwiRail of a plan to “can what was left of New Zealand’s rail network”, Patrick says. They would then turn those trains into luxury services, catering to tourists.
That announcement was at the end of 2021, but while it seemed it went unnoticed by the majority of New Zealanders, a group of volunteers began gathering signatures for a petition and the decision was reversed.
Patrick says people see rail as a way to not only connect with each other, but also as a way to encourage economic growth in the regions and make an impact in terms of carbon emissions.
There's a train through the Wairarapa, but nothing further north to Hawke's Bay.
An inquiry, led by the transport infrastructure select committee, held last year, looked at a number of different things such as inter-regional rail services and one of the recommendations was to investigate a rail service between Wellington and Napier.
Paul says trains are much more efficient, especially if electrified.
“We’re also very conscious of small towns losing their services.”
However, at a conference, while a number of political parties talked about how they would support trains, one member from one party said he wouldn’t support the inter-regional trains, saying that inter-city buses worked perfectly well.
However, Paul says those buses have no onboard toilets and the ones at various stops are often cold or poorly maintained.
He says buses were also not suitable for young families or for older people, especially those with mobility issues.
“We see the idea of bringing back trains for a whole set of reasons: mobility, connecting communities.”
There was also some push-back with myths such as not being able to go fast on narrow gauge railway lines, or not having the population for it.
However, Paul says there are other countries overseas that have similar populations and very efficient rail networks.
“Most of our towns and cities are along existing railway tracks.”
The volunteers also believe that opening up the rail network would take some of the pressure off the roads, by using it to transport freight and reducing the number of heavy trucks, which would also reduce the amount of maintenance required on the roads and make them safer.
However, a major barrier to bringing trains back was that every regional council along the network, for instance between Wellington and Napier, had to agree for the trains to go through, Paul says.
Then they would have to ask the local councils to revamp the railway stations.
Patrick and Paul at Dannevirke's railway station. It might need a bit of a spruce up if passenger trains return to the district. Photo / Leanne Warr
“It’s just a huge task.”
They believe that as people work toward a decarbonised future, not everyone will be able to afford electric cars.
“We see trains as part of the network that needs to be brought back,” Paul says.
The group has been lobbying at a government level, but they also believe it has to come from the communities.
“What we realise more and more is that it’s going to have to be a bottom-up campaign. That we have to get out to the communities.”
They encourage residents to talk to the key players, including the local MP, council, or the community representative on the regional council or join the campaign.
Paul acknowledges it’s going to be slow.
“We’re not going to get trains instantly,” he says, estimating it could be between 10 to 20 years.
