All aboard for Christchurch
Passengers were milling around the platform at the Dunedin Railway Station yesterday before a return journey to Christchurch aboard the Southerner.
Photo: Linda Robertson
The tourism division of KiwiRail brought back the passenger rail experience between Dunedin and Christchurch for four days this year, with the first trip taking place on Saturday.
Photo: Linda Robertson
Two more trips are scheduled for today and tomorrow.
In its day, the Southerner was a premier passenger express train that connected Christchurch and Invercargill, travelling along the Main South Line, said Great Journeys New Zealand and commuter rail general manager Tracey Goodall when the trips were announced late last year.
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Scoop
17 hours ago
- Scoop
Petition To Bring Back The Southerner Passenger Train Launched
Press Release – Save Our Trains Save Our Trains Southern spokesperson Dave Macpherson said there are 750,000 New Zealanders living along the rail route between Christchurch and Invercargill who are starved of reasonable public transport links between their communities. A petition has been launched in the South Island calling for the restoration of The Southerner regular passenger train, running from Christchurch to Invercargill, via Dunedin. The passenger rail service would also stop at key towns and cities such as Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Balclutha and Gore, and possibly other stops such as Temuka, Palmerston, Mosgiel (for bus connections to Dunedin Airport) and Milton, should demand warrant. The petition will be presented to a cross-Party group of South Island MPs at Parliament in early July, and calls on the 'House of Representatives [to] urge the Government to restore The Southerner Train, from Invercargill, via Dunedin to Christchurch, as a regular public transport service, supporting South Island towns and cities along the route' Save Our Trains Southern spokesperson Dave Macpherson said 'there are 750,000 New Zealanders living along the rail route between Christchurch and Invercargill who are starved of reasonable public transport links between their communities.' 'Rail is a preferred choice of travel for large numbers of them, judging by the very positive early reaction we are getting to our petition out in the streets and on the airwaves. We are starting to collect signatures in the streets of Oamaru, Dunedin, Balclutha and Milton already, and are adding volunteers for that task in Invercargiull, Ashburton, Christchurch, Gore and Timaru.' 'We have today launched the petition online as well, and are making that available to people around the country.' [see Petition link: ] Mr Macpherson said 'we are being told by tertiary students, retired people, families, businesspeople, and especially disabled people that rail will provide them affordable, safe and comfortable links to friends, relatives, study and work activities that are not well served – if at all – by expensive airliinks, unsafe car journeys and slow, uncomfortable private coach links.' 'The North Island already has three Government-supported long distance rail links, but the South Island has nothing. It is about time that this part of NZ Inc. received some transport support.' He pointed out that, 'unlike new highways, the rail route is already in place; the Hillside (Dunedin) and Waltham (Christchurch) KiwiRail workshops are in place to support passenger rail services, rail-enabled ferries are being bought, and tourist trains in the South Island are a roaring success. Everything points to passenger rail being successful in the South Island.' 'Local people need passenger trains providing affordable local services.'
Scoop
17 hours ago
- Scoop
Petition To Bring Back The Southerner Passenger Train Launched
Press Release – Save Our Trains Save Our Trains Southern spokesperson Dave Macpherson said there are 750,000 New Zealanders living along the rail route between Christchurch and Invercargill who are starved of reasonable public transport links between their communities. A petition has been launched in the South Island calling for the restoration of The Southerner regular passenger train, running from Christchurch to Invercargill, via Dunedin. The passenger rail service would also stop at key towns and cities such as Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Balclutha and Gore, and possibly other stops such as Temuka, Palmerston, Mosgiel (for bus connections to Dunedin Airport) and Milton, should demand warrant. The petition will be presented to a cross-Party group of South Island MPs at Parliament in early July, and calls on the 'House of Representatives [to] urge the Government to restore The Southerner Train, from Invercargill, via Dunedin to Christchurch, as a regular public transport service, supporting South Island towns and cities along the route' Save Our Trains Southern spokesperson Dave Macpherson said 'there are 750,000 New Zealanders living along the rail route between Christchurch and Invercargill who are starved of reasonable public transport links between their communities.' 'Rail is a preferred choice of travel for large numbers of them, judging by the very positive early reaction we are getting to our petition out in the streets and on the airwaves. We are starting to collect signatures in the streets of Oamaru, Dunedin, Balclutha and Milton already, and are adding volunteers for that task in Invercargiull, Ashburton, Christchurch, Gore and Timaru.' 'We have today launched the petition online as well, and are making that available to people around the country.' [see Petition link: ] Mr Macpherson said 'we are being told by tertiary students, retired people, families, businesspeople, and especially disabled people that rail will provide them affordable, safe and comfortable links to friends, relatives, study and work activities that are not well served – if at all – by expensive airliinks, unsafe car journeys and slow, uncomfortable private coach links.' 'The North Island already has three Government-supported long distance rail links, but the South Island has nothing. It is about time that this part of NZ Inc. received some transport support.' He pointed out that, 'unlike new highways, the rail route is already in place; the Hillside (Dunedin) and Waltham (Christchurch) KiwiRail workshops are in place to support passenger rail services, rail-enabled ferries are being bought, and tourist trains in the South Island are a roaring success. Everything points to passenger rail being successful in the South Island.' 'Local people need passenger trains providing affordable local services.'
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Connecting the south by rail
Passengers prepare to take a return journey to Christchurch on the Southerner earlier this month. Photo: Linda Robertson The rhythmic sway of the train moving through our stunning Otago countryside is a special part of the Southerner experience. As Robert Louis Stevenson famously said, "All of the sights of the hill and the plain; Fly as thick as driving rain". The last time I rode the Southerner was in 2001 — I recall the pleasure of the landscape, the book I was reading (Pig Earth by John Berger) not to mention the coffee and sandwich I enjoyed along the way. Inexplicably, the following year this great train service was put to bed. We look forward to the day when a trip to Christchurch by train is the normal way to travel, a journey that can be as productive as we need or as relaxing as we want. And there is an appetite for it. When Great Journeys recently announced a limited return of the Southerner for several days this year, people were enthusiastic. Tickets were sold out within days of going on sale. Demand for the return of a regular service is strong. On a recent Sunday, I joined other MPs, councillors and members of the public at a "Save Our Trains" forum in Dunedin to discuss steps we will need to take to restore passenger rail in the South, to restore the Southerner. Also that weekend, there was an announcement at the Regional Development Summit of funding for an "inland port" and the reopening of the Hillside Workshops maintenance facilities. The time is ripe for a restoration of passenger rail alongside an increase in freight by rail. A train trip is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel and produces about 80-90% fewer CO₂ emissions compared to the same trip with a flight. With the rising costs and general inconvenience of flying between regional centres, passenger rail stacks up both financially and environmentally. This matters. Recently I attended a presentation by Antarctica New Zealand where we heard about the scientific research under way in Antarctica, including all important climate science. Antarctica's ice plays a crucial role in regulating global climate while its melting ice also raises sea levels. The Thwaites Glacier, also known as the "Doomsday Glacier" is now at risk of catastrophic failure, and when it slides into the sea and melts, it will raise sea-levels by about 80cm and trigger more ice loss, more sea-level rise. We should be urgently taking every action we can to reduce emissions in order to slow global heating (and reduce the risk from the collapse of the Doomsday Glacier). One of the most sensible things to do is to reduce emissions from transport. Clearly passenger rail has a critical role to play here. We already have the tracks, and Hillside Workshops is now back up and running. Let's not forget that Aotearoa was once linked up by passenger rail between regions and main centres — including from Christchurch to Dunedin — and to a myriad of small towns in between. By the turn of the century this once thriving rail network was pared back to a mere skeleton of its former self. The 2025 government Budget revealed some funding for rail, but it is all for the North Island, and much more is being spent on urban highways, again leaving us in the Deep South out in the cold. This could change if our southern voice is heard loudly enough in Wellington and when southern MPs from both government and opposition do the mahi to support a restoration of passenger rail. Already there appears to be a consensus among most southern MPs that the restoration of the Southerner is desirable, and the question then turns to how. The Green Party Budget launched in May sets out a clear budget for the return of several inter-regional rail connections including our Southerner. Save Our Trains has prepared a handy factsheet about the feasibility of this rail link on their website. We can have a transport network that works for everyone, giving people real choice. Travelling by train through ever-changing landscapes is a special pleasure we should all be able to enjoy, "[as] ever again, in the wink of an eye; Painted stations whistle by". Time to leave the station, let the rhythm of rail do its thing, and embrace the journey! Scott Willis is an Ōtepoti-based Green Party MP. Each week in this column writers address issues of sustainability.
