1000 more seats for daily train commuters

Train passengers on the Hutt Valley and Kapiti lines will have 1000 more seats to choose in morning and afternoon peak times from Tuesday (4 October) with the addition of extra units to the services.

“With the entire new Matangi fleet delivered we are delighted to put them to work for the convenience and comfort of the region’s train customers,” says Paul Swain, Greater Wellington Regional Council Public Transport Team Leader.

“This marks the end of a nine year project to bring the entire train fleet into the 21st century, that began with refurbished carriages on the Wairarapa service in 2007 and finished with last of the 83 Matangi 2-car units entering service last week.

“Our passengers had been travelling on trains and carriages that were up to 60 years-old and were becoming increasingly unreliable.

“Together, with the government, we’ve invested $430 million to modernise the fleet and this has seen more people choosing to take the train.

“Passenger figures began increasing when the Matangi units were introduced in 2012, from 11 million trips, to more than 12.8 million trips in the past year. The positive trend is continuing, with patronage increasing by six percent last year and in the first two months this year.

“We’re following a simple formula: when there is a comfortable, reliable and punctual service, more people use public transport.”

Councillor Swain says customers will see more improvements coming down the line with the new performance based contract with new train operator Transdev.

“We designed the contract to give the best service for our customers, with some tough performance standards around punctuality.

“Transdev are doing a great job of meeting those standards. Very few services are running outside their time and we are receiving a lot positive feedback from customers.

“Our next challenge will be to replicate the rail improvements with the region’s bus services.”

Contracts for improved bus services are currently out for tender and will come into effect in mid-2018.

Quick facts
· The train upgrade began in 2007 with 24 refurbished carriages on the Wairarapa service costing $25million
· Matangi units began arriving in 2010, with the last units entering service in late September
· 83 sets of two-car Matangi units were delivered under budget at $406 million
· People took 12.8 million train trips across the region in 2015/2016.

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