The Future Is Rail
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thefutureisrail.bsky.social
The Future Is Rail
@thefutureisrail.bsky.social
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Let's build an inter-regional passenger rail network in Aotearoa NZ for people & our planet. #TheFutureIsRail #SaveOurTrains
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thefutureisrail.bsky.social
Imagine hearing:
- We just don't have the population density to make roads work.
- We are too hilly and our roads are too narrow.
- No one wants to travel by road.
Those statements are clearly ridiculous, and yet, they are regularly applied to trains.
An empty suburban street in nz An empty rural road on a misty day in nz
August 29, 2023 at 9:48 PM
thefutureisrail.bsky.social
It's annoying when people say they once saw a bus/train/cycleway with only a few people on it & use that as an excuse not to invest in them. Do they say the same about roads?
And empty road stretches off into the distance under a cloudy sky Another example of an empty NZ road. This one in a hilly area A photo of a new, empty expressway, taken from inside a train
August 29, 2023 at 9:42 PM
thefutureisrail.bsky.social
Here are three more of the responses we received. From safety to stress free; affordable, productive and sustainable, trains are a great way to get around. 

Why do you like to be able to travel by train in Aotearoa New Zealand? What train route would you like to see?
It's easy to work on a train if you need to, or just relax and enjoy the landscapes you are passing through. 50-54 Female, Otago The train meant we could travel as a family with young babies (at the time). Walk up and down. Look out windows etc., without some air hostess telling us to sit down or to stop loitering around the toilets. So much easier to feed the children too. 45-49 Female, Auckland Living in Germany, I had the pleasure of being able to travel easily, comfortably and affordably around the country and around Europe on trains. It's so much nicer than flying and often just as fast or even faster, as you can arrive at the station just before the train leaves, and most train stations are in the centers of the cities and towns. And it's much more environmentally friendly than flying or driving. I have enjoyed night trains as well. 50-54 Female, Otago
August 28, 2023 at 10:05 PM
thefutureisrail.bsky.social
New Zealanders want trains!

Along with Women in Urbanism we asked NZers to share their stories of what long distance trains meant to them and we got hundreds of responses. Here's just a small sample
When I was a child in the 1990s the family would regularly take the train from Kapiti to Hawkes' Bay, where we had a holiday property. We would meet my Dad who had driven up by himself at Waipukurau station for the final drive. I always enjoyed the train much more than the car journey, which was often nauseating and scary. 30-34 Female, Wellington I went from Christchurch to Greymouth on the Trans Alpine on my first ever solo bike packing journey. It allowed me to solo travel and feel safe. I also felt like I would have never visited the West Coast because I'm not a confident driver crossing the Pass. 35-39 Female, Wellington We took our daughter on the TranzAlpine, who was 8yo at the time. For her it was a wonderful trip, somewhere she could move between carriages and enjoy the open-air viewing area. Having recently made the same journey by car, I gazed jealously at the train as it glided by. This car is a squeeze, with carefully planned rest stops and frequent arguments. 45-49 Female, Canterbury
August 28, 2023 at 10:03 PM