Webinar: Tāmaki to Tauranga

The "golden triangle" of Auckland - Hamilton - Tauranga accounts for almost half of Aotearoa New Zealand's population with under 5% of the land area. We lack a passenger rail connection between these three important cities, one that can help achieve emissions targets, reduce vehicle use and improve resilience. A big question looms: how can we fund, construct and operate such a link?

Building rail with a narrow gauge in steep terrain is successfully done in Japan, where regional rail operates within such constraints and runs trains with up to 160km/hr speeds. Perhaps it is time to look overseas for expertise, funding and partnerships to build our future train networks?

Join us for a webinar discussing how we can build passenger rail without being subject to three-year political cycles and central government funding.

Check out Ben Ross's article which inspired this kōrero here: https://voakl.net/2024/01/30/e...

About our panelist:-

Simon Wilson (Emcee)

Simon Wilson is an award-winning senior writer with the NZ Herald, where he focuses on Auckland and covers politics, the climate crisis, transport, housing, urban design and social issues, and sometimes books and the arts.

Heidi Hughes

Heidi is a Tauranga-based social entrepreneur interested in transport and urban form. She was a Tauranga City Councillor in 2018 and has most recently established The Wednesday Challenge. An initiative that engages students and businesses in mode shift. She has been an advocate for intercity rail for many years and through her role as a city councillor and has a good understanding of the recent history, barriers, and opportunities for passenger rail from a Bay of Plenty perspective.


Daniel Headifen

Daniel is currently a Programme Director with KiwiRail. He is a Chartered civil engineer in New Zealand and the United Kingdom with a 20+ year history in rail work in both New Zealand and overseas. He has held various technical, operational and project management roles including being the founder manager for KiwiRail’s Civil Engineering group, Area Manager for the Taranaki and Hawkes Bay regions of KiwiRail’s Network and a Management Team member for the internationally award-winning North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance post the Kaikoura Earthquake. He is currently the Programme Director for KiwiRail’s Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery and Mechanical Facilities upgrades.

He is a long-time member of the Rail Technical Society of Australasia, has been Chair of RTSA’s New Zealand Branch since 2020 and is a keen advocate for the technical improvement of the New Zealand rail industry.

Ben Ross

Ben is currently a Senior Planner with the Waikato District Council and an Associate Member of the New Zealand Planning Institute. Projects that Ben has worked on include: Innovative Street Pilot - Manukau in cooperation with Panuku Development Auckland, North West Bus Improvements., City Centre Economic Development Think Tank with Auckland Unlimited (formerly ATEED), iREX Ferry Terminals Development in Wellington and Picton, Lead Trainer with the UITP on all things Urban Planning and Transport, and various submissions as part of the ongoing Planning reforms.  

Ben has a deep passion for ensuring quality of life in both our urban and rural areas bringing all his skills, knowledge and wisdom into my role(s) in wanting the best and most of all equitable outcomes for all, with inter-city rail falling into this category! 


Angela Strange

Angela lives in Hamilton and is the Waikato Regional Council spokesperson for the Te Huia interregional passenger rail service connecting Waikato and Auckland. Angela has been a Waikato Regional Councillor representing the Hamilton constituency since 2019.  She is the deputy chair of the Future Proof public transport subcommittee, and the Chair of the Te Huia working group. As part of the delivery of the Waikato public transport strategy, she is focused on enabling Te Huia to become a permanent passenger rail service and for it to be embedded into the region’s public transport programme.