Stuff Digital Edition

Te Huia train service costing 10 times what it makes

Benn Bathgate

The cost to run Waikato-Auckland train service Te Huia has so far been about ten times what it earned.

The financial performance of the Waikato-to-Auckland service has been laid bare in a report released as part of the agenda for Hamilton City Council’s Infrastructure Operations Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 7.

Te Huia earned $298,062 from April to October, according to a table in the report. Meanwhile, gross operating costs were $3,032,452 – a difference of $2,734,390.

Weekday demand for the service was below even Covid-adjusted predictions but the bright spot is unexpectedly high weekend demand.

And a Hamilton City Councillor says more time and further changes to the service will get it back on track.

Te Huia data was released in the wake of Councillor Rob Pascoe’s criticism at the lack of financial transparency.

‘‘I’m yet to receive one single bit of information despite the fact everyone says, when you ask that question, ‘yeah not a problem, we can get that for you straight away’,’’ Pascoe said at a council meeting in November.

Pascoe was previously assured by councillor Ewan Wilson he would get the information – and it might be ‘‘ugly reading’’.

Wilson told Stuff yesterday he wasn’t surprised at the numbers in the Te Huia report, but was confident proposals would transform its fortunes.

‘‘We’ve operated for five months,’’ he said. ‘‘If you were to judge us now, it’s early days and on a non-optimal schedule.’’

The initial inability to run the service into the heart of Auckland had been a huge barrier, but with services now stopping at The Strand that would prove a ‘‘game changer’’.

‘‘I’m convinced, one to two years of this new optimal strategy will prove there is a market’’, he said.

‘‘I think the fundamental component is New Zealand needed a step change in multi-mode transport options.

‘‘What we’ve offered the users was not optimal, we couldn’t get past Papakura, not delivering the product.’’

He said a schedule that offered Aucklanders a same-day return would open the service up beyond commuters and into the leisure market.

Wilson did, however, highlight a potentially fatal blow – an incoming National Government he said would be committed to road, not rail, investment.

The report notes that while the service has been on pause since August 18, due to Covid-19, a number of fixed costs have remained.

It also shines a light on passenger numbers, noting that the weekday service is tracking 49 per cent below business case projections, and 28 per cent below Covidadjusted

projections.

The report contains one bit of good news, with weekend demand tracking at 420 per cent above business case projections.

The report also includes measures for 2022 under the heading ‘‘Te Huia Improvements Plan’’, that includes a February ‘restart’ to include four trips per weekday, and two Saturday services, with all services to The Strand.

By March the second phase of the ‘restart’ is set to commence with four weekday trips, two Saturday trips and an additional stop at Puhinui.

By May the service aims to be running six weekday services and four Saturday services, as well as two Sunday services.

The report notes a number of caveats however, including ‘‘Auckland Transport confirming cost and installation of ticketing solutions’’, ‘‘timetable committee approval’’ and what is described as ‘‘Saturday demand rebuilding’’.

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2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281663963293090

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