New Government funding is aimed at quadrupling the number of trains running in and out of Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
New Government funding is aimed at quadrupling the number of trains running in and out of Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Labour has promised to pay its share for 18 new hybrid-electric passenger trains to help ease a bursting Wellington commuter network.
The 18 four-car trains will operate out of Wellington on the Manawatū and Wairarapa lines and will be combined with upgrade works on the tracks, Minister of Transport Michael Wood said today.
He said the trains will increase capacity by approximately 1.5 million trips and could make trips up to 15 minutes faster on the Manawatū line.
The project aimed to double the number of trains running in peak and off-peak times between both Palmerston North and Wellington and Masterton and Wellington, and to better avoid disruptions.
The total cost, however, remained confidential at the moment due to “commercial considerations”, the Government said.
“Many commuters are familiar with the disruptions associated with the current fleet, so this news will be a game-changer for these communities,” Wood said.
Minister for Finance Grant Robertson said the decision to co-fund the new trains would boost growth and productivity in regional areas near Wellington.
“The new trains will operate using a combination of electricity wires, batteries and fuel, lowering our carbon emissions and making New Zealand less reliant on volatile international energy markets,” Robertson said.
The rail upgrades are expected to include maintenance and stabling facilities in Palmerston North, Masterton and Wellington, along with a new training simulator.
Greater Wellington and Horizon regional councils welcomed the announcement after mayors in the lower North Island had earlier kicked up a stink when the trains were not funded in last year’s Budget.
Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter said he was relieved the Government was supporting the much-needed trains.
“The current fleet of diesel trains are 50 years old and at the end of their working life,” he said.
“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,” he said.
Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter and councillor Penny Gaylor last year said they were frustrated no money had been put in that year's Budget for new trains.
He said the business case estimates every dollar spent on the new trains, which are battery-powered on non-electric track, will yield $1.83.
“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,” Ponter said.
“I’m sure they join me in congratulating the Government on making a climate-friendly investment in public transport that will enable more people to move to and develop our regions.”
The Green Party’s transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter also welcomed the announcement, saying her party had also been lobbying for it.
“But we can’t stop here. A much more ambitious programme of funding is needed to modernise our rail network, including more electrification, realignments to allow for faster speeds, and the extension of services to other cities across the country,” she said.
Councils in the lower North Island had earlier written to the Ministers of Transport and Finance after a bid to have $360 million allocated to the project, costed at the time to be $762m.
Ponter also once sent MPs and ministers a tin of sardines in the mail to illustrate how crowded the commuter networks were.
