Connected communities
SUMMARY
Public transport helps our communities thrive.
Trains connect communities. Trains have connected friends and families for graduations, weddings, holidays, and business for generations. They have connected towns with the cities, and bought our country together.
But a period of privatisation and decades of underfunding has limited the development and use of our national rail network.
Trains can bring our diverse country together by connecting them to people and landscapes across wide distances.
Scroll below to learn what we can do to ensure passenger rail is positioned to enrich communities throughout the motu.
Rail is an important part of our past, but it should also be part of our future. Join the campaign to support the retention and growth of a national passenger rail network.
More routes
Trains connected Napier and Hastings to Wellington, and Tauranga and Rotorua to Auckland until 2002. In the South Island, The Southerner connected Invercargill and Dunedin to Christchurch. A night train ran up the North Island until 2004. We need to look at returning these routes and new ones too.
More stops
Numerous towns have been cut from the rail network over the last two decades. Towns like Feilding, Taihape, Te Kuiti, and Amberley have stations, but no trains to service them.
Better frequency
People travel for all sorts of reasons. Better frequency means more train services at times that suit more people.
”Limited or non-existent public transportation options make it difficult to access employment, education, medical facilities, and social services. These challenges not only affect individuals but also impact the overall development and sustainability of these communities.”
- Mayor Weston Kirton (read more)
”Let us embrace the opportunities that rail presents and work towards a future where New Zealand is more a unified and interconnected society.”
- Joshua Simons, Head Boy of Ruapehu College (read more)
”The essence of regional rail is its service to communities. Many rural communities, local councils, and regional councils already have a clear vision of how rail service investment could transform their towns.”
- Arnaud Deutsch (read more)
”Taken together, these stories paint a picture of a different – but achievable – New Zealand. One in which transport is more equitable and affordable, comfortable and safe, sustainable and future-proof.”
- Lindsey Horne (read more)