Source: Radio New Zealand
Te Huia provides an interregional passenger rail service between the regions of Waikato and Auckland. Supplied / Waikato Regional Council
The future of the Hamilton to Auckland train, Te Huia, looks set to be decided in the first half of next year.
The Waikato regional council voted on Thursday to ask the New Zealand Transport Agency board in February to keep funding steady at a 60 percent funding assistance rate for a one-year extension.
If NZTA would not keep funding steady for an extra year, council asked for a formal decision on what permanent support the agency will give the service by April.
Te Huia was launched in April 2021 for a five-year trial ending in June 2026. It provides an interregional passenger rail service between the regions of Waikato and Auckland.
It had faced several issues, including covid delays, being temporarily banned from operating in Auckland, and being impacted by repeated line closures on the Auckland network.
The coalition government had a history of negativity about Te Huia, and last year NZTA decided to progressively reduce its contribution to the funding assistance rate from 75.5 in 2024 to 51 percent by 2026.
Councillor Chris Hughes said there was no point in the council continuing its plans to run the train until it knew it had NZTA support.
“Once we’ve got it, we’ve got a commitment, and we can move forward. At the moment there’s too much uncertainty and I don’t believe our ratepayers should be wearing the cost,” he said.
Other councillors echoed this need for certainty from NZTA.
However, councillor Jennifer Nickel pointed out that NZTA had put more money into Te Huia than anyone, and although the council should be strong in its request for certainty it should also be flexible to allow NZTA to “say what it wants to say.”
“We are a partner with them,” she said.
Councillor Tipa Mahuta also said council had a long relationship with NZTA and should be thinking in terms of a partnership.
“It’s not in our role to tell NZTA what their job is, we can express a preference and our key timelines, but I’m pretty sure they know their remit… it’s not our jurisdiction to direct them to do anything,” she said.
Hamilton city council, Waipa district council and Waikato district council told the regional council they supported their request for an extra year of steady funding.
Hamilton city councillor Sarah Thomson spoke at today’s meeting and said the city had been a very supportive partner of Te Huia.
She said the city had brought forward public transport investment to support the train, particularly around the Rotokauri transport hub where most passengers get on and off the train.
“That transport hub was in a master plan, but it would still not be built to this day, most likely, if it was not for the need to support the Te Huia service,” Thomson said.
Hamilton councillor Sue Moroney also spoke and said the city had “significant skin in the game”.
“The city council has seen the importance of having a really fit-for-purpose transport network between the largest city in the country and the fourth largest – but the fastest growing city – in the country,” Moroney said.
She said she regularly used the service for meetings in Auckland.
“Importantly I use it because I can get a lot of work done on the way up and the way back, I can get all my emails done, it’s great for productivity, I can’t do that in a car, I can’t do that in a bus, I can only do that in the train,” she said.
After discussions, the letter tabled in the council’s agenda and the final letter being sent to NZTA were slightly different.
Regional councillor Liz Stolwyk said it was important that the surrounding district and city councils were fully aware of what was being asked for and were taken along on the journey.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
