Huia

There are grand plans to make the Hamilton to Auckland to Huia train an hourly service and build a new station in the heart of Waikato's largest city.

The Waikato Regional Council Transport Committee is considering a draft proposal, but the price for any possible changes could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Warren Ma is the chair of Waikato Regional Council and joins us now.

if they're intending for more of that to be covered by the cost recovery from some fares or rates or taxes, I guess.

The interesting part of that, though, is that intercity buses and then intercity rail like the Capital Connection to Huia and the mainlander trains aren't included and cash only services, which apparently exist in Marlborough and the Waiheke ferry aren't included.

Do we know whether the Auckland ferries are included in the Wellington ferries?

I believe they are.

The Greens also expanded on their transport policies just after we recorded our episode.

So on the 4th of October, they announced that they will deliver overnight rail between Auckland and Wellington.

bring back the southerner between Christchurch and Dunedin, and extend Te Huia to Tauranga, and strengthen rural bus services.

They also put some costings against their targeted free public transport for youth, students, etc.

Whanganui and all that as well?

We also want to extend the Auckland train, uh, the Huia service, down to Tauranga.

We also want to, uh, have the train between Christchurch and Dunedin, and we also want to improve bus routes and regional, uh, routes around the country, yes, between our smaller towns.

We know that as the cost of petrol is zooming, and there is no security in having us rely on fossil fuels, then we have to give people more choices that are affordable, that are reliable, and that are frequent.

So they've been doing all that work on that.

So I think now that that's rectified, they'll be able to get to Huia quicker.

But, yeah, it needs their stops.

It needs to – yeah, so that's the situation.