For posterity, I'm making some notes about how it all began, and attached the original submission I made to last years Select Committee hearing. More can be found at www.makingrailwork.com and on Facebook (search Making Rail Work)
1. The start of the dream 2013 – 2016
Sitting in traffic in June 2013 on the Southern Motorway,
trying to get to Queens St in peak traffic. ‘’This is a nightmare’’, I say to
my co-passenger. ‘’If only there was a
train!’’. We discuss the pros and cons,
remembering when back in the late ‘90s there had been a train from Frankton to
(we think) the Strand, that for some reason had been cancelled. Facebook is the place to be, so as we sit in
gridlock, I create a Facebook group, imaginatively called ‘We want a commuter
train between Hamilton and Auckland’.
I invite all my friends to ‘like’ the page and start
engaging with various other groups such as the Campaign for Better
Transport. I attend Regional Council
meetings, contribute to council plans by way of submission, and occasionally
ring talkback radio.
Three years go by, and I am in a queue at the Pumpkin
Festival at the Hamilton Gardens. Then
Labour MP and spokesperson for public transport, Sue Maroney is ahead of
me. We get chatting, as you do, and
discover this common interest. From there,
we agree to meet, and following a couple more meetings decide to see if we can
form a more formal group to get some solid research and higher profile. Fortunately, the Railway Union and the
University of Waikato agree with us, and we get funding to complete a
feasibility study.
With the numbers in hand, we are finally ready to go
public. It’s great timing, with an
election looming and a mayor who at that time was not at all keen on public
transport. We need a better name and
‘The Rail Opportunity Network’ – or TRON for short, is born, and officially
launched at a public meeting held at the Frankton Junction Hotel in April
2016. Attended by politicians,
lobbyists, the press, and plenty of others interested in supporting rail
between Hamilton and Auckland, we are now really on our way.
2.
2016 – 2020: Te Huia Train
With the announcement by then Transport Minister Phil Twyford that there will be a significant commitment and investment in rail, TRON is able to make great inroads. The steering group dissolves as most people become busy with other projects, but I (Susan) keep it going, using social media and regular spots on radio (and a couple on TV) to keep our story alive. Further feasibility studies are commissioned, there’s more public consultation, and media interest remains strong. Following further commitment from the Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton City Council, and the Waikato District Council, there is finally a real proposition ahead, and in due course the rolling stock is bought and sent to the Wellington depot for refurbishment.
TRON continues to make it clear that we see the line between
Hamilton and Auckland as just the beginning of a wider commitment to rail. We change our focus from being just about a
commuter option to really telling a story of connecting people and places, not
only on this line, but across the golden triangle. One thing at a time though, and despite some
delays, the train is ready to be launched, and is given the name Te Huia.
The train leaves the new station near ‘Te Awa the Base’ with
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and others on board. We are on the 6 o’clock news, and there is
much excitement about what the future of rail might look like.
The future is looking bright – and then Covid strikes. The timing could not have been worse, with
the train having to be effectively mothballed.
The press has a field-day, with naysayers citing the costs of the train
as a waste of taxpayer money. No one
considers that it’s not just rail, but we become a visible punching bag for
government spending.
This is made worse by issues with the tracks, causing delays
and cancellations. TRON is still
advocating for rail as an alternative to cars, and as the conversations around
global warming become louder, and the cost of petrol spirals out of control, we
see even more possibilities.
I receive a phone call from someone in Tauranga who has
heard about TRON’s work and is looking at developing a proposal for a ‘golden
triangle’ train service. It’s great
timing, and a group gathers via Zoom to discuss how we could build on the work
already undertaken by TRON to grow the vision and bring more people ‘on the
journey’ with us.
We have big goals and are fortunate to be a team of diverse
people with passion for public transport and a wide range of skills. More research is needed, we have a goal to
get in front of as many politicians as possible, and we need to keep media
interest high. I’m keen to be involved
– the TRON project is now mainly just me and a large-ish social media
following, supported by one or two people in the media who are supporting our
work.
We need a new name though – TRON is not right any more, and
one of the group comes up with the brilliant ‘Making Rail Work’. Further funding was secured via Trust Waikato
and Bay Trust, and we were able to set to work on a significant project that
culminated in a Select Committee hearing, with all parties and other key
stakeholders in attendance, and a record number of submission. The issue of
rail was still well and truly alive and had resonated with an enormous number
of New Zealanders.
4. 2022
– Connecting Communities – public submission and Select Committee hearing
Right from the start of this project in 2013, I have wanted to see people travel by train, explore local culture, and engage with local people. To see connection, responsible and safe commutes for workers, students, and tourists, and find ways to revitalise small towns along the train route.
Having spent my time with TRON focussed mainly on
community engagement, I elected to look at this as part of our submission to
the government. Some of the committee
asked hard questions, but we were prepared and ready, with facts to back up our
claims. We also acknowledged that there are groups largely invisible in
the conversation about passenger rail, including the small towns along the rail
lines where public transport is almost non-existent, Gen X, Y, and Z population
who is motivated to use sustainable, climate-responsive, and accessible public
transport, and iwi, whose very land and people are directly affected.
Connecting people is at the heart of our purpose
and is the very essence of community rail. With a network that is at the same
time national and local, rail can have a wider social impact. We identify the
need to look beyond the people and groups who have traditionally been involved
with the railways and be open to everyone; involving a wider mix of people it
can play a valuable role in building and supporting integrated communities.
Creating submissions and watching the live submissions on
the Select Committee hearings were exciting.
Making Rail Work was determined to be well prepared (we were!), and well
received by the committee (we absolutely were).
We were fortunate to get time to speak individually, and I was thrilled
to be able to outline the background to MRW, and where we saw the potential for
rail to positively impact isolated communities along the proposed rail
corridor, as well as tell the story as the importance of rail for the economy
and wellbeing of ‘the golden triangle’
Some of the committee asked hard questions, but we were
prepared and ready, with facts to back up our claims. We also acknowledged that that there are
groups largely invisible in the conversation about passenger rail, including
the small towns along the rail lines where public transport is almost
non-existent, the gen X, Y and Z population who is motivated to use
sustainable, climate-responsive, and accessible public transport, and iwi,
whose very land and people are directly affected.
We want to encourage individuals, communities, voluntary
organisations and businesses to take responsibility for the issues that matter
to them and their communities. The voice of community is a crucial part of this
success, enabled by drawing on local insight to understand and function as an
advocate for local people’s views and needs and inform decisions about services
and infrastructure to improve local transport provision.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/92630903/missing-link-on-passenger-rail-service-wades-in-with-strategic-plan
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/397378/waikato-wide-train-service-campaigners-new-dream-after-hamilton-auckland-rail-route
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115263837/what-happens-in-auckland-will-impact-hamilton-commuter-rail-service
Last week my daughter started work on Te Huia - the perfect ending to this project for me.
NB I wrote a 3000 word contribution to the next stage of planning for MRW but as it is unlikely to be included I am not attaching this here. I do hope though that one day my kids will read this, and realise what a big project it was.
