Lower North Island to get brand new fleet of electric trains

Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said he was happy the upgrade was going ahead.

“Labour put money aside for these trains in 2023, we’re so pleased the Government didn’t cancel them like the ferries,” he said.

Haha I was thinking something similar, almost a billion from the govt, it's hard to imagine how that didn't end up disappearing into tax cuts too.

I was wondering if it would be possible to utilise the same unit design for longer distance journeys, but I suspect based on what i've seen that they rely on being able to use the Wellington overhead network where it exists to get the range to go as far as Masterton & Palmerston North so probably can't take journeys as far as Napier or New Plymouth.

If anybody else was curious about more of the details - the product spec is here: https://www.metlink.org.nz/assets/Campaigns/Projects-Timeline/North-Island-Rail-Connection/Alstom-Product-Data-Sheet_LNIRIM_FINAL.pdf

and they're based on an existing product: https://www.alstom.com/solutions/rolling-stock/adessia-commuter-trains-backbone-urban-life