New Wellington Trains: The One Essential Part They Missed

They hailed it a new era for rail in Wellington – but now Wellington people are warning they may get caught short – and we’re not talking about the fare.Waikanae is one of my favourite spots out of Wellington – a pretty little coastal town on the Kapiti Coast amid water, bush and mountain. I stayed there for a week on holiday with some friends renting a bach and it was so peaceful.

Anyway, back to trains. Wellington’s new two-car trains are being built in South Korea and promise the luxuries unheard of in Auckland of. Like air-conditioning, passenger-operated doors, public address systems and electronic display screens. They’ll be arriving next year.

It’s not just that the present 70 – year – old Wellington suburban trains are being replaced but the upgrade includes the enlarging of the tunnels on the Johnsonville line , double- tracking and electrification to Waikanae (which presently misses out on the Paraparumu train service).

Many of the gentle urbane retired people living in Waikanae will be excited about the prospect of a comfortable train ride to the capital instead of having to navigate the often congested windy and rain – swept coastal road.

But now they’ve discovered the flash modern trains have one major drawn back especially for older people facing the 70-odd minute journey from Waikanae to Wellington or back.

That last Earl Grey cup of tea before boarding the train will result in much discomfort as there are no toilets on board.  Yes, these choosing the trains with all the mod cons including a low-floor area in the trailer car, improving access and providing more room for wheelchairs, buggies and bicycles forgot about one essential fact of life.

This seems to be a common failing.

When KiwiRail extends Auckland services to places like Helensville and hopefully Hamilton, toilets must be mandatory.

And our Auckland suburban railway stations have no facilities which is why you occasionally see on seats the very unpleasant disgusting stains of people caught short although I suspect these are also produced by homeless who sleep at night there and scamper off when you arrive early for a train.

Waikanae passengers have started a letter campaign to the local newspaper demanding toilets on board. Good on them. I hope they succeed and the rail authorities realise no matter what age, toilets should be an essential thing on all long journeys. After all, the toilets are on the Waiheke ferries and the Auckland-Waiheke trip is only about 35-40 minutes.

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