Patrick Reynolds is right

Stuff reports:

Critics who think the new passenger rail service between Hamilton and Auckland is a bit slow and ineffective have found an unlikely ally: Patrick Reynolds, a member on the board of the Government agency that bankrolled the service to the tune of nearly $80 million.

In a tweet, Reynolds said the service was the “worst of both worlds” and it is “[v]ery hard to see how it will attract much ridership”, until problems with the speed of the trains were fixed.

He is right. few people want to spend five hours a day commuting. The train service will almost inevitably get closed down in a year or two as so few people will use it, and the taxpayer will lose $100 million.