Julie Anne Genter: Green Party MP on the party's push to extend the Te Huia train to Tauranga

The Green Party is pushing to reinstate passenger rail across the country - starting by connecting Tauranga and Auckland. 

It's launched a petition targeting the Minister for Rail to get it done. 

The party says it would cost $10 million over four years to extend the Te Huia train to Tauranga. 

But Transport Spokesperson Julie Anne Genter says it will cost more to achieve the long-term vision. 

"Total budget for all the projects, including a transformational improvement to the rail network - which would mean a two and a half hour train journey between Tauranga and Auckland - is about five and a half billion."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now the Green Party wants lots of trains again. The
Transport spokesperson Julian Engina has launched a petition calling for
the restoration of passenger rail around the country and is
with us.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Hi, Julienne Kyota, how are you going good?

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Thanks? Where do you want it?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Well, we're here in Torona today, so we're calling to
extend to WHOA services to be from Toronga, including Hamilton
and Auckland. We've also talked about a night train between
Auckland and Wellington with modern comfortable sleeper cars and the
Southerner down in the South Island probably crashurched to Dunedin

(00:37):
in the first instance.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
And how much would that all cost.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well, in the short term there's some operating costs, like
we could get to WHOA extended to Torona for maybe
two million a year two and a half million a year,
So we've budgeted ten million over four years, but it's
going to be a bit more to get the long
term total budget, which would be well. Total budget for

(01:02):
all the projects, including like a transformational improvement to the
round network, which would mean a two and a half
hour train journey between Torang and Auckland is about five
and a half billion over five years.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
That's capex and operating. That's a lot more than I
was expecting. Like I was gearing up for like a
cool one to two and I was going to I
was going to call BS on that, but five and
a half. Hey, where you going to get that money?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, it's less than twenty percent of what the government's
currently planning to spend on its expensive highways program. And
there's a lot of potential funding methods, like you know,
because obviously rail development, if you're doing really transformation or
rail development, it's uplifting property values and it's usually leading

(01:46):
to a lot of development. So that would be one
of the tools. But basically in our budget, you know,
I don't know if you saw, we had a fully
costed oh budget now before budget so yeah, so we
we had some increases in taxation, but most of the
transports and was coming from a reduction in some of
the planned capex on highways. And the great thing about

(02:07):
investing in rail is it not only benefits the people
who take the train, it actually benefits the roads as well.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, well, because there are a few people on anyway. Listen.
Wonderful idea. Thank you, Juliane appreciate it, Julian Gineto, Green
Party Transport spokesperson. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive,
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