Dunedin city councillors yesterday backed a submission to a parliamentary select committee, calling for the Government to adopt a more ambitious strategy to make improvements to the Main South Line in Otago and Southland, reintroduce passenger rail and add a passing loop between Mosgiel and Caversham.
The Dunedin City Council submission was in support of resuming inter-regional passenger services between Christchurch and Invercargill.
It asked the Government to provide investment to undertake further investigation into the reintroduction of passenger rail services within Dunedin and the wider region.
There had been ‘‘continuous under-investment in the Dunedin and greater Otago-Southland rail network’’, constraining it.
The submission was prepared in response to an inquiry into the future of inter-regional passenger rail in New Zealand.
Cr Lee Vandervis voted against the council’s submission, which was supported by all other councillors at the meeting.
Passenger rail service the Southerner ended in 2002, as it was deemed to be unviable without a subsidy.
Cr David Benson-Pope said more investment in the southern rail network was overdue.
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said it should be a priority to provide people with transport options.
Financial viability of any potential service would need to be figured out, but plenty of people would love to have the option of a train ride, rather than having to fly or deal with the stress of driving, he said.
Services provided by KiwiRail were the result of the company being asked the wrong questions by governments, he said.
Cr Jules Radich said the lack of double-tracking from Mosgiel into Dunedin was an impediment that ought to be rectified.
Cr Vandervis said the South Island
did not have a sufficient population or economies of scale to make passenger rail work.Passenger rail could never be economically viable and it would always be a slow transport option, he said.
Train services could be focused on day trips, tourism offerings and freight, he said.
Cr Carmen Houlahan said she disagreed with much of what Cr Vandervis said.
People from Mosgiel wanted a passenger service to Dunedin, she said.
‘‘It used to happen. We can do it again.’’
Cr Sophie Barker said there were 30,000 vehicle movements a day between Mosgiel and Dunedin and a commuter train service would result in lower carbon emissions.
Cr Rachel Elder wondered if there might be an opportunity to run a passenger train from Christchurch to Dunedin on an experimental basis, such as for an All Blacks test.
Council transport group manager Jeanine Benson said trains for events were probably something that should be looked at.
