29 October, 2004

Northerner goes west

Green Party co-leader Rod Donald is saddened by the demise of the Northerner overnight train service between Auckland and Wellington.

Mr Donald led the GP campaign to try to save the Southerner and the Kaimai, Geyserland and Bay Express services.

"The Green Party understands the reasons behind Tranzrail's decision to axe the Northerner but warns that, with increasing fuel prices, the Government and Tranzrail will need to work together to revive and expand passenger rail services in the very near future," he said.

Mr Donald said a pre-requisite to restoring passenger rail services to cities and tourist destinations such as Dunedin, Invercargill, Napier, Rotorua and Tauranga is fixing up the rail tracks so that trains can travel on time and passengers can ride in comfort.

ENDS

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