Media Release: 5 July 2011

Wellington rail upgrade on right track

The AA has welcomed a significant announcement about the future of the Wellington rail network today.

An agreement between the Greater Wellington Regional Council and KiwiRail has been confirmed which will ensure the Wellington train system is upgraded over the coming years to become a more effective and reliable service.

The package will include Government funding of $88.4 million to renew the signalling and traction assets on the network plus Greater Wellington committing $80 million to upgrade the old Ganz Mavag train units.

“Wellington already has the highest per capita use of public transport in the country and having a more efficient and usable train service is great news for the region,” says AA Motoring Affairs General Manager Mike Noon.

“Many AA members are users of public transport and we support having a transport network that gives people a range of choices for how they travel. Public transport is more likely to be used if the services are frequent, reliable, safe, and comfortable, and if the time it takes to arrive at the destination is similar to using a car.

“Every train user in the Capital will be well aware of the break-downs, signal failures and delays that have beset the network in recent times. There has already been substantial work to improve the service with the purchase of new train units and the building of more tracks but train users will be extremely pleased to see this ongoing commitment to delivering a modern, high-quality rail network.”

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