The announcement late last week that KiwiRail will be in a position to increase services on the Te Huia train service between Auckland and Hamilton due to successful recruitment and training of a new set of drivers, shows there is a commitment from KiwiRail and local councils to provide quality public transport, which in turn helps to reduce carbon emissions and road congestion especially on the Southern Motorway.

National Coordinator Niall Robertson says that this train has met all of its expected targets and is paving the way for a more frequent and even more environmentally friendly service in the future. Robertson says, “This project has been hard graft. Initially it was not allowed to go past Papakura due to Auckland Transport saying there was no pathway for it. It was then held up due to Covid but eventually returned to service and a pathway was found to get it all the way into Auckland. However, due to it being a diesel hauled train it was banned from Britomart”. Robertson added that the end drivers carriage could not be used so two engines were placed on either end of the train, effectively adding the dead weight of the second locomotive to the train. This has been overcome recently, and it is now a true push/pull set up, so there is even more CO2 being saved.

Hamilton Council and Environment Waikato are keen to add to an order for new hybrid trains to be built to travel between Palmerston North and Wellington. These units can run as electrics under the wires in Auckland and by battery or diesel engines elsewhere. This will enable these trains to terminate at Britomart. However, Robertson says, “We will have to wait until 2028-29 before the new trains can enter service, as they will need to be ordered overseas with longish design and building times currently. However, it is heartening that the current service trial is successful”

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