In November 2021, a business case called the Lower North Island Rail Mobility, was presented to the Government recommending a $762 million investment in a fleet of hybrid electric trains for the Wairarapa and Manawatu lines to replace the current Capital Connection and Wairarapa Connection train services.
The Lower North Island Rail Mobility business case missed out on a funding boost at the 2022 Budget, leaving uncertainty to the ongoing funding of the Capital Connection train service which is popular with commuters and offers a solution to limiting climate change.
Horizons Regional Council Chair Rachel Keedwell was 'gobsmacked'. "We can't continue on business as usual and hope that [climate change] goes away, or hope that it's not as bad as everyone's saying. "We actually have to do something, and this is one step - you know - actually fund the infrastructure that we need and stop funding the infrastructure that we don't need."
The full article is available on NZ Herald.
