The plan for daily passenger rail on the Invercargill-Dunedin-Christchurch route has taken another step this week, with a proposal to the Infrastructure Commission’s Infrastructure Priorities Programme being lodged by rail advocacy group Save Our Trains - Southern.

The plan calls for a daily, each-way, service connecting Invercargill, via Dunedin, with Christchurch, plus an additional return Dunedin-Christchurch service.

As well as the above centres, stops along the way are initially proposed for Gore, Balclutha, Oamaru, Timaru and Ashburton; with future consideration to be given to Mataura, Milton, Mosgiel (Dunedin Airport connection), Palmerston (Central Otago connection) and Rolleston.

Three new train units, from the same family as the 18 units the Government has recently contracted to buy for North island long distance services, are recommended for the south, although an interim service could be run using existing carriages and engines available in the country.

The proposal follows on the heels of a large petition in support of the rail service, presented to Parliament in July, and the planned hearing of the group’s submission in support early next year by Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee.

Spokesperson for the group, Dave Macpherson, said “for the price of only one kilometre of new motorway, the South Island will be able to get a passenger rail service fit for a modern country, serving the 750,000 population along the Christchurch to Invercargill route.”

“While there is a lot of water yet to go under the bridge, there is strong support in the South Island for passenger rail, and we are working with a cross-party group of MPs to make sure the south gets a fair share of the transport infrastructure resources.”

Save Our Trains - Southern pointed out that the 17 ‘Roads of National Significance’ so far approved by the Government had a combined expected cost of $43.3 Billion, for a total length of 251 kilometres.

“That’s about $170 million per single kilometre; considerably more than the total cost of getting modern passenger rail going in the south,” said Mr Macpherson.

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