Why is it that Tauranga doesn't have a passenger train service with Hamilton and Auckland? Tauranga is now New Zealand's fifth largest city, and despite growing traffic problems, there isn't a passenger service to the Bay of Plenty on the railway we all own.
Taxpayer-funded KiwiRail should serve the country by providing services that people can use, rather than closing and running down much of the network. With fuel prices reaching record highs, the Government has an obligation and duty to provide a sustainable transport system that doesn't rely on diminishing oil resources.
Rail can be electrified and powered by our many renewable energy sources. The Government must provide KiwiRail with funding for a fleet of fast, new, modern railcars to run services from Whangarei to Invercargill, Auckland to Mt Maunganui, Wellington to Gisborne.

David Dalton, Tauranga.