Campaign Summary

In October 2009 CBT launched a petition calling for the immediate start of a Hamilton to Auckland passenger rail service. The petition received widespread support each and every time CBT members took it out to the public for signatures.

In March 2010 the petition of 11,500 signatures was presented to Waikato MPs and Councillors. The petition was then presented to Parliament, and was stopped at the Select Committee level the head of the transport committee, local MP David Bennett.

In September and October 2010 CBT ran a “Vote Trains” local body election campaign, gaining a lot of attention. A signficant number of rail sympathetic councillors were elected to Environment Waikato, Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council.

In 2011 a petition was presented to Parliament by the town of Tuakau with over 3,500 signatures supporting the rail service.

Following the Local Body Elections a Rail Working Party (RWP) was established involving various Waikato councils, Auckland Council, KiwiRail, NZTA and CBT (with non voting rights) to investigate the feasibility of a rail service. Robin Janson represented CBT on the Working Party with support from various CBT members. After a year of investigation and following several surveys and business cases, all of which strongly supported the establishment of a commuter rail, the RWP made a final report with positive recommendations for the service to the respective council bodies in August 2011.

You can read the final report (PDF) here: Waikato Rail Business Case 2009

Rail Working Party

A service was proposed by the Rail Working Party. The positions of the Councils in 2010 were:

• Waikato District Council’s (WDC) declined to support a regional rate for the rail link and declined to include the rail proposal in the council’s 2012-2022 long term plan.
• Waipa District Council did not support the proposal.
• Hamilton City Council (HCC) decided not to support the service recommended by the Rail Working Party. Any rail service remains as an unfunded item in their future plans.
• Environment Waikato has declined to fund the service. Any rail service remains as an unfunded item in their future plans.

The NZTA has made it clear on a number of occasions that Government funding will not be forthcoming for the service as Government MPs (local and national) have reinforced this position.

• Monday 22nd August, 7:30 pm.
• Methodist Centre, 60 London St, Hamilton

Come along and hear what local MPs and political parties have to say about passenger rail and public transport in Hamilton.

MPs and candidates from all the major political parties will be speaking. For more information contact

As AKT reports, yesterday the rail service moved a step closer with more than 40 people, including rail party members, councillors and members of parliament, departed Frankton Railway Station on a Silver Fern train.

The Silver Fern about to depart from Frankton

The train terminated at The Strand railway station in Parnell, which has been under consideration as a possible end point for the service.The rail working party was established last September following strong public interest for a passenger rail service.

As part of its investigations into the feasibility of a service, the working party has been exploring detailed timetabling options, infrastructure requirements, and costings prior to making a decision on a preferred option.

Regular rail services using the recently refurbished Silver Fern railcar could be the outcome of a trial run this Friday August 12, believes the Campaign for Better Transport.

For the past several months a number of local councils have been working with KiwiRail and other parties to explore options for a daily passenger train service between Hamilton and Auckland. A working party will evaluate using the iconic Silver Fern via a chartered test run, arriving at Auckland’s Strand railway station at 10:40am Friday, before delivering its final recommendation.

Members of the Campaign for Better Transport will be making the train journey to Auckland. “We welcome the opportunity to take the trip,” says Waikato Trains Now! campaign manager Rob George.

“It has been a long time coming and it is good to see some tangible action, even if this trip is only a proof of concept run. We are confident that the merits of the service and public demand will ensure it is the first of many”.

This working party is expected to deliver its final recommendation to the various Councils by early September.

Meanwhile, the Campaign for Better Transport will continue to build public support for the service. A major public meeting on Hamilton public transport issues and the rail service will take place on Monday 22 August, 7.30 pm at the Methodist Centre on London Street, Hamilton. MPs and Candidates from all major political parties have been invited to speak at the meeting.

[ends]

Timetable:

10:40 Silver Fern arrives at the Strand Railway Station

11.10 Depart The Strand Railway Station for Britomart

11.25 Arrive Britomart

Travellers are taking to the tracks, with a boost in patronage for long-distance trains – including the nearly derailed Overlander.

KiwiRail’s three long-distance services have shown an 11 per cent increase in passenger numbers – or 34,000 more travellers – in the past year.

And, after narrowly avoiding the axe four years ago, the Overlander train service had the highest growth, with a 24 per cent increase.

Figures from KiwiRail show there were 340,000 passenger journeys on the TranzAlpine, TranzCoastal and Overlander in the past financial year, up from 306,000. Of those the TranzAlpine – from Christchurch to Greymouth – was the most popular, with 193,000.

KiwiRail passenger general manager Deborah Hume said the passengers included tourists and local travellers, and showed that people were increasingly seeing rail as a travel option.

“We have worked hard in a challenging international market and it is pleasing to see that rail travel is increasingly popular with a wide variety of people.”

This is a great result for Debbie Hume and the team at KiwiRail. It seems obvious that a Hamilton to Auckland rail service would do extremely well.

Last week in Hamilton, the CBT launched its “Vote TRAINS” manifesto for local body candidates to sign in support of getting commuter rail services between Hamilton and Auckland. Now this is being backed up with the Vote TRAINS website which allows the public to see online which local body candidates support getting rail services established within the next 18 months.

“Many candidates, from a wide range of political alliances, have approached the CBT to sign the Vote TRAINS manifesto. It states they will strongly advocate to get rail services the region wants. The manifesto also highlights that those candidates, if elected, will lobby central Government for funding equal to what Auckland and Wellington receive for their train services. It will also help Hamilton and Waikato voters to recognise which candidates to vote for if they want regular commuter rail services to and from Auckland” Jon Reeves from the Campaign For Better Transport said.

The Campaign For Better Transport always remains politically independent and will not have candidates in the local body elections. However, the CBT will provide information to the public on which local body candidates are actively supporting this regional transport initiative. “The Vote TRAINS website and our public meetings are useful tools for voters to use when making their decisions on who to vote for. Just like the public, we strongly believe the time for train services to Auckland is now. The Waikato needs to urgently obtain slots into Britomart Station for the morning and evening services. Rail transport usage is growing by over ten percent a year in Auckland. “If good services are offered, the public will swap their daily battle to work for the comfort and safety of trains”.

11,500 members of the public signed the CBT’s petition earlier this year calling on the Government to get Hamilton to Auckland trains rolling. It was the largest petition on a Waikato issue in over a decade, proving the underlying support for train services through to Auckland. “If just two percent of those people who signed the petition used the proposed trains they would be completely full. At three percent KiwiRail will be scrambling to find more trains” Reeves said.

“The concept is simple and completely do-able. Most of the station platforms exist along the route and only need some tidying up. KiwiRail have spare Silver Fern railcars which are off contract and only being used about once a month for charters. The railcars use four to five times less fuel than if all those people drove to Auckland. Once a trial proves the trains are a success more modern railcars could be ordered which are even more fuel efficient.”

The Vote TRAINS website will be continuously updated with news and events in the lead up to local body elections in September, including a planned station “sit in” on September the 11th. This is being coordinated with local communities in Tuakau, Te Kauwhata, Huntly and Ngaruawahia and KiwiRail.

Supporters of Vote TRAINS include Bob Simcock the Mayor of Hamilton and both the Mayoral Candidates for Waikato District Council Allan Sanson and Clint Baddeley (the current Deputy Mayor of WDC).

“The time for Waikato trains is now. It is very important to get the right people into local Government throughout the Waikato to enable a unified voice to be heard by Central Government for funding its share” Reeves said.

Environment Waikato are currently deliberating over whether to include Waikato rail in their Annual Plan.

An Auckland-to-Hamilton train service is being touted for the Rugby World Cup as a way to boost visitors to the city.

KiwiRail public affairs general manager Kevin Ramshaw confirmed it was “looking at excursion trains… between Hamilton and Auckland”, linked to 10 games in either Hamilton or Auckland.

Just as people from all around the south of England think nothing of jumping aboard a train to go to London for a day’s shopping, or to catch a show or a concert, Auckland, as New Zealand’s equivalent for entertainment, shopping and just about everything else, should be making it as easy as possible for our Waikato cuzzies to do the same.

The report is here, but petition is effectively dismissed in one sentence:

The majority of us note that this service has recently been considered by the relevant local authorities and they decided not to establish such a service at this time, and therefore we have no matters to bring to the attention of the House.

The problem for David Bennett though is that is manifestly not true.  Cr Dave McPherson goes as far as calling it “complete crap” and that “Hamilton City Council has continued to support it and has not pulled its support”.

Environment Waikato is yet to meet with the NZTA to discuss the matter.

David Bennett is clearly wrong.