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Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Opinion: Proposed rail service perfect timing

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
News Director, Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
18 Aug, 2017 06:43 PM2 mins to read

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The Greater Auckland regional rapid rail proposal map. Source/Greater Auckland

The Greater Auckland regional rapid rail proposal map. Source/Greater Auckland

A high-speed rail service between Auckland and Rotorua? Yes please!

A blueprint for a high-speed rail connecting Rotorua to Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga - half of the country's population - has been proposed by a transport advocacy group Greater Auckland.

The trip would take two and a half hours and in that time you could travel in comfort, reading a book, watching a movie, or simply looking out the window as you sped past New Zealand's countryside.

Sounds like a dream.

With family still living in Auckland, I am regularly jumping in the car on a Friday night to spend the weekend there.

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But I dread the drive - firstly, driving for three hours is the last thing I want to do after a week of work, but then I also have to deal with the crazies on the open road, roadworks, and traffic.

A rail service would be the perfect fix.

But in order for it to work locals would need to get behind it and use the service.

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Many still remember the rail service that once ran between the two cities. The Geyserland Express was in service from 1991 to 2001, but was cancelled due to a lack of patronage and profitability.

Some on social media are saying history will just repeat itself, but I hope that with Rotorua's recent surge in growth, that wouldn't be the case.

If anything, I think with the way our city is growing, there is no time better to invest in infrastructure like this.

But dreams of hassle-free travel aside, the reality is this proposal, if adopted, is still a fair few years away.

Discover more

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21 Aug 08:58 PM

Rail to Rotorua would be the third and final stage - and the most costly, at an estimated $1.45 billion.

And then there is the issue raised by acting mayor Dave Donaldson, that the Putaruru to Rotorua rail is locked up in a lease with Rotorua Railcruising.

I would love to see this proposal turn into reality, but in the meantime, spare a thought for me on my Friday night commutes.

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