In ‘Plane Sight’ Part 3: To Get On Track

Imagine leaving Waitematā Station (Britomart) after work on Friday on a comfortable, affordable, efficient electric train heading to Mt Maunganui for a summer weekend on the beach. Or taking your bike to Rotorua on the train for a biking holiday. Or what about  heading to Wellington or Palmerston North for a work conference on a comfortable night train without any hassles? Trains are usually comfortable, reliable, and highly accessible. It also helps reduce carbon emissions from domestic aviation. There’s something beautiful, almost nostalgic about train travel. It was the truth when celebrated author, A. P. Herbert stated, “Slow travel by train is almost the only restful experience that is left to us.” And it is an experience that Kiwis can reclaim. 

Like The Guardian pointed out in 2022, "For a people represented by a unique flightless bird, Kiwis do a lot of flying". New Zealand's per capita aviation emissions are far more than the biggest countries in the world. It is not just that trains aren’t the preferred choice of transportation. It is that a long-distance passenger rail network doesn't exist. For all its first world amenities, Aotearoa New Zealand remains the only country without a regular affordable train linking its largest cities. Think of the possibilities if there was a rapid rail through Hamilton to Tauranga, or a passenger rail to Whangarei. 

The restricted mobility of New Zealanders and the over-reliance on domestic flights are illustrated in Andre Brett's book, 'Can't Get There From Here'. The title is funny and tragic at the same time, because of its blunt truth. Public transportation, and especially that of the railways, has been lacking in very many ways. 

Prior to 1920, the New Zealand Railways (NZR) was carrying "6 million tons of freight and 28 million passengers - a remarkable achievement for a nation of just over a million people". So what happened after that? How and why did New Zealand stop using the trains? 

Whether it was due to funding or legislation, railway projects got eclipsed by other modes of transportation. The absence of which has led Aotearoa New Zealand  to be disproportionate contributors of carbon emissions. Rail is a necessity for decarbonizing, due to its low emission profile. It also helps reduce the emissions from road transport. With the many benefits that come from shifting to railways projects, regional councils and the government must step up to do their part. There have been several public movements and campaigns like 'Save Our Trains', 'Making Rail Work', 'Restore Passenger Rail' among many others that have come to fore, recognizing the importance of railways. 

One can look to Finland, to understand how a nation with a relatively smaller population and a lower population density than New Zealand supports intercity passenger rail. Because imagine the convenience and how cost effective it would be, if one can take a train from Auckland to Tauranga instead of driving.  Auckland is much larger than Tauranga city.  However, Hamilton is en route, as are some smaller towns like Matamata. It speaks to a bigger population, which means the railways can cater to that much more!

In Finland, rail links between two cities, Tampere and Oulu. Both places are roughly the same size with more than 200,000 residents. If a person were to travel from Tampere to Oulu, they could easily take the night train coming through from Helsinki. Or they could pick and choose from any one of the hourly train departures. The domestic aviation route between Auckland & Wellington is also the most frequent and remains the busiest. Reinstatement of daily limited-stops rail services between Auckland and Wellington should be looked into with great care. 

These passenger trains have the capacity to drastically reduce domestic aviation carbon emissions. Additionally an integrated approach to regional public transport can compound massive benefits to the environment and our community. Good quality long-distance buses, bikes, electric cars, upgrading domestic coach services, and of course investing in railways have the potential to halve the domestic aviation emissions as suggested under the TERP.

To paraphrase novelist Margarita Silver who wrote: “while other forms of transport take away from this process, either by their sheer discomfort (think planes) or considerable effort (think driving), trains inspire it” [introspection]; trains inspire. Period.