Shortlist of names released for Hamilton to Auckland passenger rail service

Wednesday, 1 May 2019

All aboard the Tron Express. 

This is one of the names local government are considering calling the Hamilton to Auckland passenger rail service.

The name is one of five being considered for the project. The rest included H2A, Waikato Link, Tron, and Tuhono Waikato (Connecting Waikato). These names will be researched through focus groups and iwi consultation before a final decision is made.

Waikato Regional Council transport committee chairman Hugh Vercoe said the five names came out of 20 suggested to the committee's Project Governance Working Group tasked with driving the rail project. Some of the rejected names from the wider group of suggestions included the 'Blaze', 'Bullet', 'Dash', Silver Star, Metro Connect and the Zipline.

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Vercoe said The Tron Express was the preferred option in the shortlist, but ultimately the name would be decided after feedback.

'I'm happy with the chosen five,' he said.

'The Tron is the nickname for Hamilton City, it used to be used as a derogatory term, and we're trying to say, let's turn it into a positive.'

Hamilton City councillor, and fellow committee member, Dave Macpherson said they were in no rush to make a decision, but backed the Tron Express.

'The Tron Express, or some version of that I like because its quirky, a little bit different and it's the sort of thing people will remember.'

Macpherson said he ran the name by a group of retirees with three-quarters of them loving it.

'It surprised me. I thought they would go with something a bit more conservative. They were into it a bit more quickly than I was.

'Love it or hate it, people aren't going to forget it.'

Tuhono Waikato could be included as part of the train's branding or as a strap under the chosen name, he said.

Hamilton and Waikato Tourism chief executive Jason Dawson said his preferance was Waikato Link ahead of Tron or Tron Express.

'From a visitor marketing perspective, if I'm thinking about the leisure visitor which to us normally are internationals, 'The Tron' doesn't mean anything to them.'

When something is named, it should be after something people know about, he said.

'Sometimes people can be too clever when trying to come up with brand names. It's good to be quite clear on what it is.'

Hamiltonians questioned by Stuff were also not sold on the Tron Express or Tron.

Student Pritaka Sahni​ said: 'The Tron sounds like a toy Train, a name you'd have for a toy. Tohono Waikato is the best.'

Former business owner Joanna Zhou​ liked Tohono Waikato.'

'It really promotes the Waikato and brings in Māori culture as well. The Tron might alienate Aucklanders from travelling here.'

Student Zaigham Baloch​ said Tuhono Waikato was about connecting Hamilton to Auckland.

'I don't even know what they're trying to do with H2A.'

Jago Seymour liked the Waikato Link.

'It's simple, like the tube in the UK.'

Transport committee members are also travelling to Upper Hutt this month to inspect the train carriages, which are in the process of being refurbished by KiwiRail. The rail carriages will be coloured silver with yellow colouring.

'Everything is coming along on the timeframe that we had planned,' Vercoe said.

Local government is aiming to launch the service in March next year where it will start up as a five-year trial. It is expected to cost about $78.2m: $68.4m from NZTA and $9.8m from the local councils.

The train would start off with four carriages, allowing it to take 150 passengers each way. A fifth carriage could be added if needed, increasing the train's capacity to 200 passengers.

It would stop in Hamilton at Frankton and The Base in Rotokauri before going onto Huntly and finally stopping in Papakura in Auckland, where passengers can change onto the Auckland Public Transport Network.