Minister backs commuter train
Transport Minister Michael Wood has rejected commentary that the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train is too slow to succeed, saying it’s already faster than a car on certain days.
He maintained the journey, with at least a two-and-a-halfhour journey to Britomart, wasn’t too slow for commuters.
‘‘Sometimes this service is as fast or faster than a car, and I want to be really clear about that, because I’ve been on those journeys when you’ve been absolutely stuck, and this is more reliable.’’
The Te Huia train, which travels from Hamilton to Papakura with a transfer to Britomart, has been faulted for being too slow. Wood, who spoke to
Stuff in Hamilton while visiting the railserved Ruakura inland port development, said he was highly confident the service wouldn’t flop before the five-year funding was up.
Stuff tested the train against a car trip on Te Huia’s first journey. On that day, the car beat the train to central Auckland by 35 minutes.
According to KiwiRail the train travels at an average speed of 65-70kmh between Hamilton and Papakura, and can reach a top speed of 100kmh.
Wood said he was ‘‘keeping a close eye’’ on the train’s success: receiving weekly reports on passenger numbers and their satisfaction levels, which he said was ‘‘extremely high’’.
Information from Waikato Regional Council shows passenger numbers ballooned on Te Huia’s first Saturday trip, taking more than 219 people from Hamilton.
The train only runs on select Saturdays due to track work on the line.
‘‘If we offer a service that people find valuable, word will get round, more people will want to try it, and the service will build up over time.’’
He reiterated Te Huia was a start-up service in only its first few weeks.
Potential improvements included bringing the train to a more central stop in Auckland, adding more services, and creating more stops in towns between the cities.
‘‘The big daddy of them all is whether we can look to make improvements to the core infrastructure, which is where you get the speed benefits, that’s the most significant in terms of fiscal investment.’’
But National’s spokesperson for transport Michael Woodhouse said the Government hadn’t specifically explained how and when vital improvements would be made to the train.
Commuters needed a direct, continuous service from Hamilton to Central Auckland, he said.
‘‘The business case said people who are likely to use the train want to get further north than Papakura, and this train doesn’t get there.
‘‘The time it takes to go from Hamilton to Auckland on this train is clearly just not efficient to entice enough people out of their car.’’
Woodhouse said Te Huia should stop at Puhinui Station, in south Auckland, allowing for a direct transfer to Auckland Airport – something Hamilton City councillors have been advocating for.
He predicted the service in its current form would last up to two or three years before being canned, but said that would be a ‘‘lost opportunity’’.