Underground station in Waikato rail mix
A sleek high-speed rail service rocketing out of an underground train station in downtown Hamilton would certainly boost Hamilton’s tag line: city of the future.
An ambitious vision of how rail could evolve in Hamilton and the wider region is part of a $101 million funding pitch to the Government.
The Auckland-Hamilton passenger rail service, named Te Huia, is tipped to start in October but already Waikato leaders are eyeing major enhancements to the service.
‘‘The initial service is a start-up service to show people what we can do with effectively what we’ve got,’’ Waikato District Mayor Allan Sanson said.
‘‘It gives people a taste but the next step is actively putting something together that gives us options around rail including a rapid service between Waikato and Auckland.’’
The Transport Ministry is working with stakeholders to develop a business case for rapid rail between Auckland and Hamilton, and beyond to Tauranga.
Waikato’s shovel-ready funding proposal seeks $5m to progress the business case into option scoping including route protection if needed.
The $101m bid also earmarks $2m to draw up concepts plans for a new Hamilton Central Rail Station as well as potential stops on the eastern rail line at Claudelands Event Centre and Ruakura.
Two possible locations for a central rail station include the existing underground rail station below Centre Place or in the vicinity of Hamilton’s Seddon Park.
City councillor Ewan Wilson, who serves as the council’s representative on the Te Huia governance group, favours redeveloping the underground rail station.
‘‘I personally prefer the option under Centre Place because it’s right in the hub of the city,’’ Wilson said.
‘‘But either option we go with reinforces the need for a CBD transport hub.’’
A key driver of Waikato’s rail package is to enhance the level of service of Te Huia and grow patronage by providing off-peak travel options.
‘‘From my point of view, whether you’re in airlines or trains, frequency underpins the viability of the service,’’ Wilson said.
‘‘The current frequency for me doesn’t quite get us there but it’s a great start. What really is exciting is the thought of an additional mid-morning and earlyafternoon service. That would really enable us to feed in domestic tourism which, I think, will be vital during the post-Covid-19 recovery.’’
Thirty five million dollars is being sought for upgrades to the Te Kauwhata to Pukekohe line.
Sanson said Waikato has greatly benefited from the Government’s investment in the Waikato Expressway but enhancing rail services is also needed.
‘‘As much as I’m passionate about the Waikato Expressway, I’ve said all the way through it’s only one part of our whole network transport system,’’ he said.
‘‘The underlying thing for me is if you’ve ever been caught in traffic at 6am at Drury, you’ll know there has to be a better way of moving people around.
‘‘The traffic tail is getting longer and longer and it’s getting closer to the Bombay Hills every morning, so we’ve got to find better ways of moving people rather than have one or two people per car.’’
A rapid rail service is expected to require the building of a dedicated rail line between Hamilton and Auckland and would see travel times between the two cities drastically reduced.
‘‘You’re not going to see the speeds of some of the trains in Europe ... but you’re likely to see trains that can consistently do around 160-170kmh.’’
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said even if Waikato’s funding bid is unsuccessful, plans still need to be made to modernise Waikato’s transport system.
‘‘If New Zealand is going to grow then we have to create modern cities, we can’t keep retrofitting the old,’’ she said.