Transport group backs electric trains

The Government decision to retain electric trains on the North Island main trunk line is being praised by lobby group NZ Transport 2050.

The 15 electric trains will be refurbished by KiwiRail and will continue to run between Hamilton and Palmerston North.

The refurbishment of the trains and electric control system is funded with an additional $35 million over four years. This is additional to the $4 billion for public transport and rail under the National Land Transport Programme.

NZ Transport 2050 chairman Paul Miller says “electric trains are proven cleaner and more efficient than the diesel locomotives that were previously being proposed”.

“The engines being used are of a family of units also used for moving cars through the channel tunnel so certainly designed for extended life. This initiative, as well as the Marsden Point extension, makes for an excellent week for New Zealand’s rail network,” Miller says.

NZ Transport 2050 is now encouraging the Government to complete the electrification between Auckland and Hamilton and the Kaimai tunnel to Tauranga.

NZ Transport 2050 is an incorporated society with the aim of challenging transport decisions and to protect the rights of current and future public transport users.