'Put the trains on': NZ First backs Canterbury rail trial

New Zealand First has announced that it will commit to a 12-month trial of commuter rail in Canterbury – with services from Rolleston and Rangiora to Christchurch.

The party also plans to bring back the Southerner Train that connects Christchurch to Dunedin and Invercargill.

Speaking at a public meeting in Christchurch on Sunday, New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters said his party would “work with the current operators of the Mainlander train service” on that route, to secure a “commercially sound agreement that gets more trains running”.

“This will give Cantabrians a real alternative to sitting in traffic every morning and every evening,” Peters said.

“Our ambition is to get passengers from Rolleston to central Christchurch in around 20 minutes by train, instead of spending up to 50 minutes on the road.

“And the trains will stop near Colombo Street, bringing passengers back into the heart of Christchurch.”

Former Rail Minister Winston Peters. Photo / NZME

Speaking to the public at James Hay Theatre, Peters said New Zealand First would put the trains on but “the rest is up to Canterbury”.

“We are not proposing to spend years and millions of dollars studying whether Cantabrians might catch a train. We are proposing to put the trains on and find out.

“We will give Cantabrians the opportunity to prove it works in practice, not just theory.

“If hundreds use these trains every day, that will build the business case for a permanent service, and hundreds a day becomes thousands. And more frequent trains then become hundreds of thousands.

“That is how we make the case for new stations, better connections and the long-term investment needed to make commuter rail a permanent feature of Canterbury.

Peters also reminded the crowd that the railway lines are “already here” and that “the taxpayer” owns them.

“For decades, they have been passing through the communities without carrying the people who live in them. We believe that should change.”