Waitakere Tramline and NZ Regional Trains

04/07/2026

𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 relaxing on a train instead of driving a car and sitting in queues of traffic. The benefits could be huge for the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty region:

• Less traffic congestion on key routes like Hewletts Road, Cameron Road, SH29A and SH2
• More relaxing daily travel — read, work, listen to music, or simply enjoy the view
• Safer roads with fewer cars and less pressure during peak times
• Better access to places like Bay Oval, Blake Park, Baypark, schools, shopping centres and the C*D
• Faster and more reliable travel during busy periods
• Reduced fuel costs and less wear on personal vehicles
• Lower emissions and cleaner air for the region
• More independence for teenagers, students, elderly people and those unable to drive
• Stronger connections between communities such as Ōmokoroa, Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa and Te Puke
• Opportunity for more walkable, vibrant town centres around stations
• Tourism benefits, giving visitors an easy way to explore the region without needing a car

A modern regional passenger rail network could completely change how people move around the Bay — turning travel time into relaxing time instead of stressful time.

04/07/2026

𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 🤔 what our region's future can be like.

Our favourite quote from this article:
The best-connected cities do not treat public transport as an optional extra – it is part of how the city functions. It is how people get to work, how visitors explore, how students move between home and study, how families access experiences, and how major events become part of the wider city rather than isolated moments in one location.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicksautner_with-the-city-rail-link-now-closer-to-opening-activity-7462368870939664384-8wB4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAVbwzIB32WlI3Kvq3HTiZa79Re6OC30Z4s

04/07/2026

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 "𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱"?
The core common thought shared across all three links below is that the existing system for funding and delivering infrastructure is no longer working, and sweeping, long-term structural reforms are required to fix the deficit. Central government, local government, and opposition parties all agree on several fundamental shifts:

𝗔 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺
• Thinking Multi-Decade Planning: The 30-year National Infrastructure Plan and the 30-year vision of the Western Bay Regional Deal both emphasise moving past 3-year political cycles to create predictable, long-term project pipelines.
• Bipartisan Consensus: Central government and opposition parties (Labour and Greens) have aligned behind the 30-year road-map to prevent costly project cancellations and "flip-flopping" when governments change.

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱
• The "User-Pays" Shift: Central government and independent bodies agree that large transport networks must shift toward user-pays models, prompting an upcoming structural review of the Land Transport Funding system.
• Widespread Tolling: Local leaders accept that central government will tool almost all new major highway projects to bring forward investment, though mayors raise equity concerns if specific regions carry a disproportionate toll burden.

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
• Addressing Underinvestment: Decades of underinvestment have left cities like Tauranga facing severe funding shortages.
• Better Delivery Structuring: Mayors argue that councils can no longer rely solely on raising rates to cover massive growth. Instead, they must consolidate services, reduce duplicative local bureaucracy, and utilise new regional funding tools so that infrastructure and housing are delivered in tandem.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 Tauranga Rail 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱.

Comments below by: Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Chris Bishop, Mayor of Tauranga, Mahé Drysdale, and Mayor of Western Bay of Plenty, James Denyer.
https://lnkd.in/eARZnaDv
https://lnkd.in/eJ8FVDrg
https://lnkd.in/eP5jWSTG

𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 🤔 what our region’s future could look like.

04/07/2026

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04/07/2026

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Tauranga, like much of New Zealand, has spent decades building communities around the private car. The result is familiar: growing congestion, longer travel times, rising infrastructure costs, and limited transport choices.

The article below highlights an important lesson from around the world: even cities that were once heavily car-dependent can successfully transition towards more sustainable, people-focused transport networks when long-term planning is aligned with public transport investment.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.
As the city continues to grow, future rail stations and corridors should not simply be viewed as transport projects. They should become the foundations of new communities, with housing, employment, retail, and services clustered around them. This approach allows more people to live, work, and travel without being entirely dependent on a car.

Stations at locations such as Apata, Omokoroa, Te Puna, Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Pāpāmoa, and Te Puke, could become catalysts for transit-oriented development, creating vibrant neighbourhood centres connected by fast, reliable rail services.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
The decisions made over the next decade will shape how the Western Bay of Plenty functions for the next century. While our region has been built for cars, it is not too late to build for people, public transport, and future generations.

🚉 Build the rail network.
🏘️ Build communities around stations.
🌱 Create a more connected and sustainable Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty region.

The future growth of our region should follow the tracks, not just the highways.

𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹-𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗩𝗡𝗭 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 - https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/06/15/why-new-zealand-should-build-cities-around-train-stations-report/

𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 - https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/nzs-billion-dollar-development-opportunity-to-build-our-cities-around-public-transport/

𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁https://www.massey.ac.nz/documents/2392/Station_Cities.pdf

𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 🤔 what our region’s future could look like.

03/12/2025

Firstly , thank you Ken Turner for the hard work you and your team have put in to try to get these two lines open to the public after 10 years . On the point of the geotech report's many inaccuracies including the inaccurate length of a train unit, when the Waitakere Tramline Society and others pointed this out, it was glossed over as not important .

The Nihotupu Tramline, Waitakere

21/09/2025

Cruise through Dargaville surrounds on a self-drive rail cart, soaking in the peaceful countryside and enjoying a delicious morning tea along the way. It’s a special season of celebration and change, the perfect time to hop on board and enjoy the ride while the rails are still humming. Bookings are essential.