Waikato Business News February/March 2021

4 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2021
Airport pumping
Hamilton Airport is
celebrating more flights
than ever before. Air New
Zealand’s latest schedule
sees flights exceeding pre-
Covid levels. The 7.35am
flight to Wellington has
returned and a new flight,
departing at 6am, has been
added. The 7.20pm return
flight from Wellington is back
and another Christchurch to
Hamilton afternoon return
flight has been added.
Originair has introduced
a new daily service from
Hamilton to Palmerston
North, Nelson and return,
and there is also a new
direct service from Hamilton
to Nelson on Friday evening.
• Kate Searancke, a
lawyer and partner at
law firm Tompkins Wake,
and Simon Craddock, a
director of Sounds Air and
Airwork Holdings, have
been appointed directors at
Waikato Regional
Airport Ltd.
DC consultation
opens
A month-long consultation
period has opened for
Hamiltonians to give their
views on an updated
Hamilton City Council
development contributions
(DC) policy and growth
funding policy. The DC
policy sets out what portion
of the budgeted costs of
growth are paid by new
developments, as opposed
to through rates or other
funding. The growth
funding policy sets out
how council approaches
unbudgeted growth
projects.
Law firm partners
with Icehouse
Law firm Tompkins Wake
has formed a Waikato and
Bay of Plenty partnership
with The Icehouse.
Tompkins Wake will
contribute $15,000 in
scholarships for the first
year - two Owner Manager
Programme scholarships
valued at $5,000 and five
‘Taking Your Business
Forward’ scholarships of
$1,000 each.
Four lanes to Piarere:
regional plan
From page 1
endpoint, with about
50 percent of the traffic
then heading to Tauranga
and 50 percent south to
Taupō, halving the traffic
density on each route.
The Government has
agreed to build a roundabout
at the Piarere intersection of
State Highways 1 and 29,
while a possible new route
for the expressway section
already exists after it was
investigated under a previous
National Government.
The roundabout is, Vercoe
says, on the new alignment,
potentially sending
a tacit signal about
future development.
That takes a hell of
a lot of cars out of
Hamilton, removes
your congestion.
So you don't have
the same demand
for parking your car
when you get there.
And it's reliable,”
he says. “It will
happen.”
Further development
of the road from Piarere to
Tauranga is also part of the
plan, with a longer timeframe.
With local body politicians
promoting the Golden
Triangle, and pressure also
from business interests, the
route is certain to receive
increased attention. A passenger
train to Tauranga
is under consideration,
but faces the hurdle of a
line that is already among
New Zealand’s busiest for
freight, with the Ruakura
inland port likely to add to
usage. A passenger train
could push more freight
onto trucks, placing a further
burden on the road link.
Meanwhile, the Hamilton-Auckland
rail passenger
train Te Huia is set to start
operating on April 6 after
delays caused by the need to
upgrade Auckland city tracks.
The 98 minute trip to
Papakura will leave Hamilton
twice each morning during
the working week, and return
twice each evening.
Each train has four carriages
with free wifi, a café
bar and capacity for 150 passengers.
The morning trips leave
the Frankton station at 5.46
and 6.28, and stop at Rotokauri
and Huntly en route.
Passengers dismount at Papakura
and then catch an Auckland
train into Britomart,
with the full trip likely to take
about two and a half hours.
The Te Huia service has a
75 percent Government subsidy
on its operating cost,
instead of the usual 50 percent.
Proponents say commuters
should arrive fresher and
will be able to work on the
train, while avoiding Auckland’s
expensive and congested
parking.
Discussion with likely
users including the Waikato
DHB, the university and
Fonterra saw the first return
trip brought earlier to help
shorten workers’ days. It
will depart from Papakura at
4.42pm with the second leaving
at 6.25pm.
Fonterra’s regional manager,
engagement, Philippa
Fourie, says the company has
conducted internal surveys
that indicate interest among
staff in using the service.
Fourie says the train
could help all three of the
company’s triple bottom
line reporting components -
healthy people, healthy environment,
healthy business
- and contribute to emissions
reduction.
She says more than 200
of their staff travel regularly
between Hamilton and Auckland,
ranging from daily to
monthly, including some who
commute from Waikato.
Parking is heavily
restricted in central Auckland,
and, between that and
road closures, drivers are
likely to start early from
Hugh Vercoe says the new Te Huia commuter
train service to Auckland is just the start.
Hamilton, Fourie says.
“Whereas it's actually a nice
easy walk from Britomart,
for example, over to [head
office at] Fanshawe Street or
a quick bus ride on a rainy
day,” she says. “If people can
hop on the train, it's got great
facilities, there’s wifi, they
could be working for the time
that they're on the Waikato
leg of the journey.”
Fonterra will be encouraging
staff to use the train.
“And then over time, we
would start to see how it
grows, because we do think
that it probably would grow,
once people start to see the
service and once other things
open up. For example, at some
point in time, there might
be more express options.”
While she expects some
initial caution, she thinks
around 35 Fonterra staff
could use the train at least
once a week.
Vercoe says the new service
is just the beginning.
“What we've always said
was, we've got refurbished
carriages with a diesel train
going slowly to Auckland. It
is the start of a bigger picture.
If in 10 years, we've still got
the same diesel train slowly
going to Auckland, then I
don't think we've achieved
anything.
“We need electrification.
We need double tracking all
the way. And we need faster
timeframes, and more regular
services.”
He also wants regular
weekend trains for Waikato
people to be able to spend
the day in Auckland, and
weekend trains to bring
Aucklanders down for
day visits.
“So those are in the plan.
We're saying to Government,
these are our ideas, we need
to start putting some funding
into it.”
Vercoe is also touting the
potential benefits of extending
the trip to the Puhinui
Station, currently being
upgraded, as a connection
for Waikato people to Auckland
Airport.He further says
the tracks and potentially
trains are already available
for a hub and spoke regular
passenger service from Hamilton
to Te Awamutu, Huntly
and Morrinsville.
“That takes a hell of a
lot of cars out of Hamilton,
removes your congestion.
So you don't have the same
demand for parking your
car when you get there.
And it's reliable,” he says.
“It will happen.”
• Submissions on the draft
plan close on March 21.
PROPOSED CAMBRIDGE POLICE BASE
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Associates
Urban +
Architecture 07 839 6521 | www.pauaarchitects.co.nz