Te Huia Passenger Rail Service Extended for One Year by NZ Transport Agency

The New Zealand Transport Agency’s decision to extend the Waikato-Auckland passenger rail service Te Huia is welcomed, Rail Minister Winston Peters says.

Te Huia came into existence because we funded KiwiRail to refurbish the carriages and build a dedicated mechanical depot in Hamilton, Mr Peters says.

The five-year trial service was negatively impacted by the Covid-19 Auckland shutdowns in its first year, so a one-year extension is pragmatic and means a fair assessment can be given.

This Waikato Regional Council’s service has received strong patronage, developed into a weekday commuter and weekend city connector, and has 98 percent customer satisfaction rates which are a credit to operator KiwiRail’s crews.

We are pleased to see the service will continue, Mr Peters says.