The Save Our Trains Campaign says unless services improve on the Capital Connection, then passengers will be driven away from using it.

Save Our Trains spokesperson Dr Paul Callister is a regular user of the Capital Connection commuter service that runs up the Kapiti coast from Wellington and travels on to Palmerston North.

He says there have been multiple cancellations of services recently, often due to mechanical faults, most recently on 20 and 21 June.

Passengers travelling to and from Shannon, Levin, Otaki and Palmerston North were provided with a bus replacement, but there was no option for Paraparaumu and Waikanae passengers who were simply advised to find “alternative transport.”

Dr Callister says this is a “real life example” of the problems resulting from the failure of the Budget in May 2022 to contribute funding for a fleet of hybrid electric trains in the lower North Island.

Local government had called for this funding as part of the Lower North Island Rail Integrated Mobility (LNIRIM) project, which would deliver critical passenger transport services to replace ageing locomotives and rolling stock.

Dr Callister says the service had the potential to be a growing and vital rail connection.

He says there was a disconnect between the Government’s worthy climate goals to reduce emissions, and the on the ground approach to building passenger rail capacity that was a central part of reducing emissions.

The Save Our Trains campaign was started in late January by concerned members of the public focused on maintaining and developing passenger rail services.

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