Waikato Regional Council and KiwiRail are expanding Te Huia train services next year.

Starting in February, a third daily return service will run on Thursdays and Fridays, where demand has been highest, and a second return service on Saturdays.

Waikato regional councillor and Future Proof Public Transport Subcommittee deputy chair Angela Strange said the new timetable was part of the “exciting” next stage of improvements to Te Huia.

“Te Huia is regularly meeting, if not exceeding, its targets for weekday patronage. The additional service will offer commuters greater travel flexibility ... They’ll be able to take a later morning train from Hamilton, and/or an earlier train home from Auckland,” she said.

“It will also double the number of Saturday services and enable passengers to have shorter stays in Auckland and get home at a more reasonable hour. We believe this flexibility will encourage increased weekend patronage, beyond the already very popular school holiday periods.”

The new timetable was meant to start in April this year but had to be postponed due to low numbers of train drivers and delays in receiving an approved safety case variation from the regulator Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA).

The new services are part of a series of improvements. Photo / Mike Scott

KiwiRail originally postponed the start until June 2024 because of the driver shortage, but they were now in the process of training 82 new drivers and expected to have appropriate numbers available by February.

KiwiRail’s Scenic Journeys and Commuter Rail general manager Tracey Goodall they would also be doing upgrades to The Strand station in Parnell.

• Concerns Hamilton to Auckland train service is environmentally and financially worse than driving
• Report finds Te Huia train costs more, has higher emissions than driving

There are currently no facilities for Te Huia passengers at The Strand, except for some undercover seats which were only available when the train is at the platform.

KiwiRail was now transforming its old signals building into a station building for Te Huia and the Northern Explorer.

The new building will meet accessibility standards and have check-ins for each train, a café, a waiting area, toilets and showers, and free WiFi for passengers.

Further work was being done by the City Rail Link to build a permanent wheelchair access ramp between Ngaoho Place, which runs directly behind the platform, and The Strand (road).

There will also be some trackside work to improve accessibility between Platforms 1 and 2 and some wayfinding improvements to the car park area.

The new timetable will come into effect from Thursday, February 8, 2024.

Meanwhile, people who are keen on a train trip to Auckland this weekend are out of luck as Te Huia won’t be operating due to scheduled track maintenance. Normal services will resume on Tuesday.

For more information, visit tehuiatrain.co.nz.