The future of Te Huia is on an uncertain track as the Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service undergoes a formal review and the cost-cutting new Government is set to run the ruler over continued state funding.
Te Huia got going in 2021 and the regional council review, due to be finished by year’s end, is looking at whether it should carry on with a full five-year trial.
Prior to the election, now-Transport Minister Simeon Brown said if elected National would look at the service from a cost-benefit perspective to see whether transport agency Waka Kotahi should continue its multi-million dollar funding beyond June next year.
There’s also been scepticism from the Waikato Chamber of Commerce over Te Huia, which costs far more than fares revenue earned (although the council stresses that “nowhere” internationally does public transport make money).
