Christchurch commuter rail pilot to be funded

The Regional Infrastructure Fund will invest in supporting Mainland Rail to return passenger rail services to Christchurch for a 12-month trial and establish the Christchurch-Dunedin-Invercargill Mainlander as a regular service, Rail Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. “New Zealand’s railways began in Christchurch in 1863, and it is time we put them back to use again for passenger rail, not just freight and tourism,” Mr Peters says. Mainland Rail, which owns rail carriages, intends to provide a 12-month trial service to test Canterbury’s appetite for rail as a public transport service and run more frequent trains from Christchurch-Dunedin-Invercargill. The Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) will provide a loan of $3.4 million to support these initiatives. The trains will run morning and evening commuter services on the main lines from Rangiora in the north and Rolleston in the south into central Christchurch starting in mid-2027. The Rolleston trip is expected to take less than 20 minutes by rail instead of 50 minutes by road, taking commuter traffic off are already busy roads. “New Zealanders are sick of transport proposals costing hundreds o

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