Projects to enable more frequent trains and a reliable rail network top a list of transport activities, each costing over $2 million, put forward for government co-funding by the Wellington Regional Transport Committee.

The Wellington Regional Land Transport Plan Mid Term Review 2024 was approved today by Greater Wellington on behalf of the region’s nine councils, the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and KiwiRail and follows a month of consultation, 580 submissions and two days of public hearings.

Committee chair Adrienne Staples says the community response overwhelmingly supported enhancing public transport.

“While feedback was diverse, there was strong consensus across the region supporting improvements to public transport, particularly for our rail network.” Cr Staples says.

“Through this plan, we are committed to realising our vision of a connected region, with safe, accessible and liveable places – where people can easily, safely and sustainably access the things that matter to them, and where goods are moved efficiently, sustainably and reliably.”

The list of ‘significant activities’ includes:

• Public transport improvements including the Wellington Rapid Transit Bus Corridors Programme, the National Ticketing Solution and greater regional council control over assets like public transport depots,
• Two new ‘Roads of National Significance’; the second Mount Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve Upgrades and the Petone to Grenada Link Road & Hutt Cross Valley Link,
• Next stages of a regional cycle network, and
• Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (Formerly RiverLink) – Hutt City Council’s local road improvements.

“We’re grateful for the 580 residents and organisations who provided feedback during the month-long consultation,” Cr Staples says.

The plan will now be sent to NZTA for inclusion in the National Land Transport Programme, which will allocate funding levels for the region’s transport activities for the next three years.

“Our nine councils, NZTA and KiwiRail have worked as a team to create a plan, which not only forms a strong funding bid, but that truly responds to transport needs across the whole region. We are looking forward to the funding being made available.”

Notes:

The 2024 Mid-Term Review is an addendum to the RLTP 2021, rather than a replacement document.

The Regional Transport Committee is made up of the Wellington Region’s nine councils, KiwiRail and NZTA.

A significant activity is defined in the LTMA (Section 16(3)(d) as: “All new improvement activities in the region where funding from the National Land Transport Fund is required within the first three years of the Regional Land Transport Plan, excluding:

• Maintenance, operations and renewal activities for state highways and local roads
• Public transport continuous programme (existing services)
• Low-cost, low-risk activities
• Road safety promotion activities
• Investment management activities, including transport planning and modelling
• Programme business cases:

The top ten significant activities are:

1. Rail Network Resilience (KiwiRail)
2. Completing Metro Rail Resilience and Capacity (KiwiRail)
3. Metro Rail- Developing and Enabling Future Capacity (KiwiRail)
4. Wellington Rapid Transit Bus Corridors Programme (Greater Wellington and Wellington City Council)
5. Road of National Significance – SH1 Second Mount Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve Upgrade (NZTA)
6. National Ticketing Solution (Greater Wellington)
7. Regional Cycle Network (Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council and Porirua City Council)
8. Road of National Significance – Petone to Grenada Link Road & Cross Valley Link (NZTA)
9. Asset Control – Depots and Public Transport Assets (Greater Wellington)
10. Te Wai Takamori o te Awa Kairangi (RiverLink) local road improvements (Hutt City Council).

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