New Zealand First would back more frequent passenger trains between Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch, party leader Winston Peters told a public meeting in Christchurch on Sunday.
Peters said the party wanted to see the Southerner route revived and would work with the operators of the Mainlander, the tourist train that already runs occasional trips over the line, rather than start from scratch.
"We support bringing it back. And as Minister for Rail, we've been working on precisely that," he said.
The Southerner ran between Christchurch and Invercargill via Dunedin for more than 31 years before it was withdrawn in February 2002. A petition calling for its return gathered about 12,800 signatures last year.
Peters said the Mainlander's operators wanted to run more often, but access to locomotives had to be resolved first. The government would work with them towards a commercially sound agreement, he said.
No additional timetable, start date or funding arrangement for expanded Invercargill services has been announced. The proposal depends on reaching a commercially viable deal with the operator.
What runs now
The Mainlander's published timetable includes five Invercargill return journeys between 1 November and 6 December, on Sundays 1, 8, 22 and 29 November and 6 December. Trains leave Dunedin at 8.05am and arrive in Invercargill at 11.40am, departing again at 1.50pm to reach Dunedin at 6pm. Christchurch to Dunedin legs run on selected Fridays and Mondays.
Peters criticised the cost of domestic air travel and said people in the south should have an alternative to flying or taking the bus.
Canterbury trial the centrepiece
The Invercargill comments came alongside the main announcement of the day: a 12-month commuter rail trial in Canterbury linking Rolleston and Rangiora with central Christchurch on existing corridors. Peters put the cost at about $4 million and said the trial would start as soon as possible after the election, with a Rolleston trip of about 20 minutes compared with up to 50 minutes by road.
"The railway lines are already here and the taxpayer owns them," he said.
Peters also pointed to 66 new locomotives being introduced nationally, 55 of them for the South Island, with the first already arrived, and to the rebuilding of the Waltham railway workshops in Christchurch. He said the revised Interislander ferry replacement would save $2.3 billion while still carrying road vehicles and rail freight.
The general election is on 7 November, with advance voting opening on 26 October. For Invercargill, the rail pledge is a campaign commitment rather than a government decision, and delivering it would depend on NZ First being in a position to act after the vote.
