Greater Christchurch ratepayers will not be asked to commit public funds to a passenger rail trial without knowing what the fares will be, the company behind the project says.
Mainland Rail director Paul Jackson, whose company was announced on Sunday as the recipient of a $3.4 million government loan for 12 months of passenger rail services, said the service needed to be affordable to be successful.
“We want to deliver a safe, cost-efficient trial that provides good value for passengers and funding partners,” he said.
Exactly what the company considered to be affordable was unclear.
The Government wants the fares to be comparable to what North Island passengers paid on the likes of Te Huia or Capital Connection – which *The Press* estimates to be $10 or less per trip.
Wellington to Porirua, about 19km, costs $6.39 for adults at peak times. Christchurch central to Rolleston is about 21.7km.
The proposed trial consisted of 20 trips a week between Rangiora and Christchurch, and another 40 trips between Rolleston and Christchurch, operating mornings and evenings.
Passenger fares are expected to cover half of Mainland Rail’s Christchurch passenger rail budget.Photo: Rail and Tourism Group Holdings
Jackson said the company would be upfront about the cost of fares after a business case was finalised.
The government loan was conditional on local councils contributing an additional collective $1.7m towards the trial. Jackson said ratepayers would know what the fares would cost before committing that funding.
The company did not respond to questions about how it would repay the government’s multimillion dollar loan.
When asked who would cover the deficit if there were not enough passengers to cover Mainland’s costs, Jackson said the company would discuss how the trial would be reviewed in real time, to avoid gaps in services.
Rail Minister Winston Peters says this was an opportunity for Cantabrians to prove their support for rail as public transport.Photo: Robyn Edie / Southland Times
Although the Government’s funding announcement, just six days before the general election, sounded strikingly similar to an election pledge made earlier in the week by Rail Minister and NZ First leader Winston Peters, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said on Monday the loan was approved through a standard Regional Infrastructure Fund process by a panel that she was a member of.
No pre-election rules were breached, she said, and existing rules around major appointments and advertising campaigns did not prevent the Government from “routine policy and funding decisions”.
“New Zealand is a democracy and that means the government governs until the people decide otherwise,” said Peters.
“Thankfully, we don’t have periods of anarchy during election periods. The government continues in its unbroken line dating back to 1854, and that is something we can all take pride in.”
The trial was approved by a panel of ministers on October 30 following the advice of ministry officials, Peters said.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop confirmed he received advice on the project from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, as he was jointly responsible for Regional Infrastructure Fund Investments.
He was asked if this funding decision would impact how the government chose to invest in other public transport programmes in Christchurch.
Bishop said that, as the funding was not from the typical transport fund, it would be treated differently.
Half of the government’s loan would go towards additional and upgraded rolling stock to improve the frequency of Mainland Rail’s passenger service between Christchurch-Dunedin-Invercargill.
No council would commit to co-funding the trial without first consulting the public through next year’s long term plan process, but Environment Canterbury previously earmarked $525,000 towards a commuter rail trial.
Councils have until June 30 to finalise their long term plans, but the government wants the trial operational by July 1.
Published in [The Press on 4 November 2026](https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/361109546/ratepayers-will-know-cost-passenger-rail-service-committing-public-funds) \
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For further reading concerning the points raised in this article: \
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- [Future of passenger rail in New Zealand is regional rail](https://publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/the-future-of-passenger-rail-in-new-zealand-is-regional-rail-07-07-2025/) \
- [*CityConnect* – inter-regional public transport network](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/cityconnect-national-public-transport-network-02-04-2024) \
- [Time for a national public transport network](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/national-public-transport-network-07-06-2022) \
- [Does New Zealand rail network actually serve New Zealanders?](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/does-the-new-zealand-rail-network-serve-new-zealanders-09-02-2025/) \
- [](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/new-zealand-unified-public-transport-strategy-05-01-2024)[Long distance passenger rail services in New Zealand](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/future-of-passenger-rail-services-in-new-zealand-05-01-2023/) \
- [Future of New Zealand’s land transport and communities](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/the-future-of-new-zealand-land-transport-08-03-2024) \
- [Motu Move – National public transport payment system](https://www.publictransportforum.nz/articles/article/new-national-public-transport-payment-system-12-06-2024)
