Hon. Michael Wood Minister of Transport Parliament Buildings Wellington Dear Hon. Michael Wood We are writing about the ‘Decarbonising the Transport System’ online conference the Ministry of Transport is organising on March 1. While we welcome the attention given to this important subject, we are concerned that the rail sector is not represented at the conference. Transport comprises 21% of New Zealand’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, the second largest source, and has been New Zealand’s fastest growing source of emissions over that last 30 years. We believe rail transport is part of the solution and should be given a voice at the table. Amongst the line-up of keynote speakers are representatives for the land transport lobby, farmers, and car manufacturers. A spokesperson for rail is not included on the agenda. Rail plays an important role in getting people out of cars and onto public transport across the world. Long distance passenger rail between towns and cities is a key part of decarbonising transport overseas. There are passenger rail revival projects in California, Illinois, Texas and Florida, places traditionally associated with cars. 2021 was the year of rail in Europe with the expansion of fast rail and night trains. In 2021, it was announced that the Northern Explorer service between Auckland and Wellington and the Coastal Pacific between Picton and Christchurch would be suspended indefinitely. New Zealand is now the only significant advanced economy in the world without passenger rail linking our major cities. In addition, New Zealand does not have any night trains in service. Rail also plays a significant role in low emissions freight transport. The lack of a keynote speaker representing rail is a further indication of the low prioritisation the Government gives the sector, as well as a lack of recognition of rail’s key role in decarbonising transport. We call on the Ministry of Transport to include a keynote speaker from the rail sector. Best regards, Paul Callister & Patrick Rooney On Behalf of the #SaveOurTrains Campaign* cc. Hon. James Shaw, Minister for Climate Change Mr Peter Mersi, CEO, Ministry of Transport -- *The Save Our Trains campaign was started in late January by members of the public who were concerned by KiwiRail’s announcement in December to withdraw same day scheduled passenger services on both islands. The petition to Save Our National Passenger Rail Network can be found at: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/p/saveourtrains
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Save Our Trains Campaign media release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 16 February 2022 Save The Trains Campaign welcomes KiwiRail’s decision to include a daily Auckland-Wellington service in an upcoming market research survey. But campaigners say New Zealand is still a long way off seeing long distance passenger trains return to the tracks. The Save Our Trains campaign was started in late January by concerned members of the public after KiwiRail’s announcement in December 2021 it was pulling same day scheduled passenger services throughout New Zealand. KiwiRail today sent an email to subscribers raising the possibility of a daily Auckland-Wellington passenger train in addition to multi-day tours and guided tours and packages. KiwiRail plans to send a short questionnaire to everyone who has signed up on their website. Save The Trains Spokesperson Paul Callister says: “Let’s be clear, KiwiRail is merely adding a question to a survey, not promising to return passenger trains to our tracks.” Mr Callister says this is still a sign KiwiRail is reacting to public blowback against their decision, with 5200 people signing the Save Our Trains petition. He says KiwiRail does not currently have enough trains available to offer all the services mentioned in their bulletin. Mr Callister says it now comes down to a battle between tourist-specific services or broader passenger focused services. “We’ll continue to campaign for the return of national passenger rail services for all users”, says Mr Callister. He says the campaign’s other demands are that future passenger rail services are built around concerns for accessibility, regional economic development, and climate action. The Coastal Pacific service in the South Island was not mentioned in the statement by KiwiRail. The petition to Save Our National Passenger Rail Network reads: We call on the Government and KiwiRail to commit to maintaining existing intercity passenger rail services. Furthermore, we ask for a comprehensive national strategy for future passenger rail services built around concern for climate action and economic development. The petition to Save Our National Passenger Rail Network can be found at: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/p/saveourtrains Media Contacts: Victor Billot victor@allrailways.co.nz 022 479 1786 Patrick Rooney patrick@allrailways.co.nz 06 880 0234 or 022 154 9119 Convenience, comfort, cost and carbon: what’s the best way to travel, save money and cut emissions?11/2/2022
The #SaveOurTrains campaign asking the Government and KiwiRail to back the continuation of axed national passenger rail services continues to grow with more than 4,500 people signing an online petition. The campaign was started by members of the public who were concerned about KiwiRail’s announcement in December to pull out of providing same day scheduled passenger services on both islands. Spokesperson, Michael Nicholson, said: “KiwiRail’s decision decimates the limited national network we had. It leaves us with disconnected urban services and large parts of the country unserved by rail. It just isn’t good enough, especially when the Government talks so much about regional economic development and climate action.” Spokesperson, Paul Callister, said: “We need to make bold decisions around the future of public transport if we’re really serious about making a dent in CO2 emissions. National passenger rail needs to be part of the solution. But it’s also a about creating a service that meets the needs of local communities. The first step is to save what we have.” The petition to Save Our National Passenger Rail Network reads: We call on the Government and KiwiRail to commit to maintaining existing intercity passenger rail services. Furthermore, we ask for a comprehensive national strategy for future passenger rail services built around concern for climate action and economic development. The petition to Save Our National Passenger Rail Network can be found at: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/p/saveourtrains Media Contacts: Victor Billot victor@allrailways.co.nz 022 479 1786 Patrick Rooney patrick@allrailways.co.nz 06 880 0234 or 022 154 9119 |
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