National Land Transport Plan lacks ambition

The recently released 2021- 2024 National Land Transport 3 year, $24.3 Billion investment plan, sounds impressive on paper, but with only $1.2 Billion of that funding put towards rail, it's hardly the transformative change necessary to change our car dependency and reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector, lacks ambition, says NZ Rail Coalition organiser - Cory Aitkin.

There is no plan put forward for new passenger transport services anywhere nationwide, with Christchurch being egregious in its absence. It is the largest city in Australasia with no 'turn up & go' urban and regional passenger rail services, yet the region receives only $1.2 Billion in investment, whereas Wellington receives $3.1 Billion, more than the entire South Island!

While greater funding for cycleways is welcomed, New Zealand's second largest city remains heavily car dependent for its transportation and as such transportation accounts for 54% of the Canterbury Region's carbon emissions. 

To meet our emission reduction targets, we must be bold, far bolder then we as a Country have been in the past, and rail should be playing a key role in that reduction. This is no far flung fantastical notion. The existing national rail network reaches most of our regional centres, what it requires is some ambition and investment to undo decades of neglect. 

The NZ Rail Coalition believes that getting traffic off the roads and onto rail benefits us both environmentally and economically.

Press release from the New Zealand Rail Coalition