The Government has locked in key funding for a one-year passenger rail trial for Christchurch, connecting Rangiora and Rolleston to the central city as early as next year.
On Sunday, Rail Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced they would loan Mainland Rail $3.4 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund for two upcoming initiatives.
The 12-month Christchurch trial would see morning and evening commuter services start up from mid-2027. The Rolleston trip is expected to take less than 20 minutes and reduce rush hour traffic on the road.
Whether the service proceeds is still subject to the local councils confirming their combined half of costs, but the ministers said they had letters of support from the mayors of Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri.
“We look forward to engaging further with Environment Canterbury.”Mainland Rail also plans to run more frequent trains between Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill, establishing the Mainlander as a regular service.
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
Peters said this was an opportunity for Cantabrians to prove their support for rail as public transport.
“New Zealanders are sick of transport proposals costing hundreds of millions or billions when pragmatic solutions such as using what we already have are staring us in the face, as is the case in Christchurch and its rail system,” he said.
“The fares will be announced closer to the start date, but we are talking about a public transport trial and would expect affordable fares similar to those paid by rail commuters in Wellington and Auckland.”
The funding will also support Mainland Rail in shifting its Mainlander train from monthly excursions to a regular timetable between Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Gore and Invercargill.
The South Island’s rail corridors were regional infrastructure assets, Jones said.
A Mainlander train journey from Christchurch to Invercargill.Photo: Bobby Boulton
“This funding is about putting them back to work for communities, tourism and local economies.
“This is the type of common-sense investment people want to see – using what we already have, reinstating what we once had, and giving people choices in their lives once again.”
The economic development benefits were “obvious”, he said.
“Railing people into Canterbury, Otago and Southland towns to spend in the local economies, strengthening tourism in the South Island, creating employment, and putting assets New Zealanders already own to better use for the benefit of our economy.”
Mainland Rail will now start the planning process with councils, the rail regulator, and KiwiRail – with official start dates to be announced closer to the time.
Passenger fares are expected to cover half of Mainland Rail’s Christchurch passenger rail budget.Photo: Supplied / Mainland Rail
Rail & Tourism Group Holdings chief executive Paul Jackson said $1.7m of the funding would go towards the Christchurch trial, while passenger fares were expected to cover half of its $6.8m operating budget.
“We’re thrilled with today’s announcement as we’ve been in discussions with central and local government about contributing to a trial for some time,” he said.
“We see this as a vote of confidence in our ability to bring these carriages back into service.”
Jackson said they had already made a substantial investment themselves, “because we believe commuter rail can work here”.
“This funding is an important next step towards getting the trial under way.”
The “Crusaders Express” passenger rail service took passengers from Rolleston or Rangiora to the new Christchurch stadium this year.Photo: Iain McGregor
So far, the public enthusiasm had been really encouraging, he said.
“We’ve appreciated the support we’ve received from minister for rail and local mayors and look forward to discussions with Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council and Waimakariri District Council about the remaining $1.7 million needed for the trial.
“We’re excited about what we can achieve through a regional partnership, with the aim of starting the commuter rail trial no later than 1 July, 2027.”
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger was unavailable for comment, but previously said he “fully supports” trialling things like commuter rail to give people alternatives to driving.
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon had also previously penned a letter in support of the trial.
On Sunday Gordon said the Waimakariri council and community both wanted to see an efficient and sustainable transport system, including better transport options into Christchurch and wider.
“This is why we supported in principle Mainland Rail’s pilot proposal.”
But he said they hadn’t seen a formal proposal yet.
“Anything that requires funding from our community would need to go through our Long-Term Plan process and consultation with our community, before council could make a commitment.”He said they looked forward to hearing from Mainland Rail, as well as partners like ECan, who are responsible for public transport.
“We would be open to discussing what role Waimakariri could play in supporting the infrastructure needed to make it work – similar to how we support public transport today.”
Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon also wrote to Mainland Rail in July to express her support.
“We welcome exploring alternative transport options for Selwyn,” she told *The Press* on Sunday.
Mainland Rail would still need to provide the council with a business case for the trial.
“We would be happy to consider this in consultation with the community, as part of our long-term plan and budgeting early next year.”
ECan chair Deon Swiggs said greater Christchurch was growing fast.
“Up to 700,000 people could be living here by 2050, and we already have the most congested rush hour in the country, with commuters losing around 89 hours a year to peak traffic.
“That’s why I’m 100% behind improving public transport for our region, and it’s good to see the Government recognising this and taking an interest in greater Christchurch.”
As the regional Public Transport Authority, ECan would have a key role in working through this proposal alongside Mainland Rail, the Government, and partner councils.
“We haven’t seen the detail yet, but when we do, we’ll be looking at whether the trial is workable, how it fits with our Metro network, and what the financial impact may be for ratepayers.”
Published in [The Press on 1 November 2026](https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/361109039/rush-hour-passenger-rail-trial-coming-christchurch-next-year) \
\
For further reading concerning the points raised in this article: \
\
- [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)
