A good Whanganui regional bus network may lay base for Wellington rail link - Anthonie Tonnon

Anthonie Tonnon is realistic about getting passenger rail to Whanganui - it would take by his best estimation a decade to set it up. Photo / NZME

Achieving a Whanganui train connection with Wellington may be a pipe dream, but a leading public transport advocate in Whanganui has an idea to pave the way.

Whanganui representative on Horizons Regional Council's passenger transport committee, Anthonie Tonnon, said buses should be used to get better regional connections and lay the foundation for future rail.

After putting out its draft Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP), Horizons Regional Council got feedback from submitters and many of them called for an extension of the Capital Connection to Whanganui in some form.

The service runs weekdays from Palmerston North to Wellington, leaving at 6.15am and departing the capital at 5.15pm to return.

Tonnon said he was happy to see strong demand for more rail public transport.

"We've had a clear message from the public that we should actually be considering any avenue we can to get rail running again."

One of the things that got Tonnon into advocating for public transport in Whanganui was when he learned about the Blue Streak railway service that used to stop in Aramoho on its Wellington-New Plymouth trip until it shut down in 1977.

Anthonie Tonnon points out there were more submissions to the RPTP about regional connectivity than about urban services within a city like Palmerston North. Photo / Dean Purcell

"I was quite amazed when I learned that."

Tonnon said the Blue Streak rail cars were bought in the 1950s and had mechanical faults, but the Muldoon Government of the day declined to buy new rail cars to replace them.

"So when those rail cars all eventually died out and were unfixable there was nothing to replace them with. That's part of why we lost our rail service in 1977."

Tonnon is realistic about getting passenger rail to Whanganui - it would take, by his best estimation, a decade to set up.

KiwiRail said there was a three-step process to set up a new rail passenger service.

First councils must understand the demand for a rail service as "regional rail can be expensive", KiwiRail said, citing the Te Huia line between Hamilton and Auckland coming in at $92 million over five years.

Second, councils would have to prioritise that new service in their regional land transport plan, which Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency uses to work out funding.

But the Government must also then include the new rail service in its national 10-year rail plan.

Once all that is done, the third stage is for Government to set in stone the work to build the new rail service.

"This process can take years as refurbishment of existing assets [eg carriages] or procuring new assets may be necessary," KiwiRail said.

But that doesn't make Tonnon want to give up.

"Well, we may as well get started," he said.

"The only thing worse than waiting a decade is waiting two decades."

Horizons transport manager Mark Read said of the Capital Connection to Whanganui idea, any service that got people out of their car was a good idea - whether that be walking, cycling or getting on a train.

"From that side obviously any extension of that would be really positive."

Read said he didn't have enough information to say whether there was sufficient demand for a service but the submissions to the RPTP showed clear signals more regional rail transport was desired.

Tonnon said more buses connecting Whanganui to places with trains but also the outer reaches of its own region - places like Raetihi and Ohakune - could be the more practical way to go.

"I'm very much of the view you need to have something people can use now or as close to now as possible and if it can't be a train today I do think we need to look at connecting bus services that can connect to trains that do exist now."

InterCity is the only regional connection bus service provided in Whanganui at the moment. Photo / Bevan Conley

Tonnon likes the idea of a regular connection with Waikanae.

"They have a train going to Wellington every 20 minutes and I think if we can connect to Waikanae with buses then we could make a much more attractive option for people to get to and from Wellington."

At the moment the only real option was a bus that often took about four hours and stopped in Palmerston North, he said.

Tonnon pointed out there were more submissions to the RPTP about regional connectivity than about urban services within a city like Palmerston North.

It may be that setting up more of that regional connectivity could get more people away from car travel.

"If we can think really coherently about a great bus network that actually starts getting people to use the services then we can build the demand and we can prove the case a bit stronger for rail in the coming years."

Read also said buses were a lot more feasible in the near term, costing significantly less than rail to set up.

"The RPTP is signalling how we want to grow and invest strategically in our public transport network and a really important part of that is to provide for those communities who don't currently have public transport.

"We see it as looking for opportunities to grow but also supporting where there is a real desire and a need."

Horizons will consider the RPTP submissions and make recommendations on Monday, June 20.

The Capital Connection is run and managed by KiwiRail but funded by parties like Horizons and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, as well as Waka Kotahi.

A spokesperson at KiwiRail was not aware of any recent requests from Horizons for advice on extending the Capital Connection to Whanganui.

He said there would need to be demand and local backing for that sort of service.

"Like almost all public transport services around the world, we can be pretty confident that the revenue from ticket sales won't cover the costs so, accordingly, it would need a subsidy."

That subsidy could only come from central or local governments, the spokesperson said.

"KiwiRail wants to see more passenger rail in New Zealand but this requires detailed planning and funding through the appropriate council and central government processes."

A business case for a $762m spend on a fleet of hybrid electric trains for the wider Wellington region was overlooked in Budget 2022.

It had funding commitments from Waka Kotahi, Horizons and Greater Wellington Regional Council and $360m was needed from the Budget to enable the full investment.

The councils' business case estimated every dollar spent would yield $1.83 and that it would quadruple services between Wellington and Palmerston North as well as between the capital and Wairarapa.

KiwiRail said refurbished Capital Connection carriages were progressing well, and were expected to be introduced to service in mid-2023.