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Mayoral meeting endorses efforts to keep Capital Connection
August
10, 2012
Mayoral
meeting endorses efforts to keep Capital
Connection
More than 125 people, including mayors and local politicians, attended a meeting in Ōtaki last night to support retaining the Capital connection rail service.
The meeting, at Ōtaki Railway Station, was initiated by Kāpiti Mayor Jenny Rowan to add weight to calls by Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils for the Government to provide a relatively small amount of extra funding to keep the service running.
The meeting strongly supported Greater Wellington Regional Council and Horizons Regional Council’s efforts to maintain this service by calling on the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to treat the Capital Connection the same as it does other commuter transport services. The Capital Connection service, which runs week days between Palmerston North and Wellington City, is the only KiwiRail service in the Wellington region that isn’t subsidised.
The meeting unanimously passed the following resolution:
“The meeting passionately endorses the
retention of the Capital Connection for important strategic
commuter transport in the lower North Island. We acknowledge
the support of both Horizon and Wellington Regional Councils
and urge all decision making agencies to find a constructive
solution that reflects 21st century public transport”.
Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional
Councils have presented a business case to NZTA in which
they have offered to jointly provide 50% of the subsidy
needed to continue the service, if NZTA provides the other
half. If the proposal is accepted, the Palmerston North to
Wellington service will form part of the Metro Service run
by Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Mayor Rowan, says she is delighted with the united support shown at the meeting.
“We need this service to continue for a myriad of reasons. It not only provides commuters with affordable weekday public transport to and from work, it is strategically important link for the communities of Kāpiti, Horowhenua and the Manawatu.”
“We’re not asking for the earth here, simply for NZTA to provide the same subsidy it sees fit to apply to other rail links in the region.”
NZTA declined an invitation to attend last night’s meeting.
To read the joint
regional councils’ business case for retaining the Capital
Connection go to
http://www.horizons.govt.nz/getting-people-places/passenger-transport/capital-connection/
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