Without any subsidy, cross subsidy, or any form of tax/ratepayer contribution.

Our esteemed Railway operator Kiwi Rail has run a four day train reliving days long past with “The Southerner”, Christchurch to Dunedin and return this week and there were a parade of aficionados scrambling to call for a restoration of the service?

Now the Transalpine claim there is no subsidisation from Govt or Councils and that ticket is NZ$250 return for a 240 Km Journey, around 50 cents a Km, so at 350 Kms it is estimated a return journey on a reinstated Southerner at NZ$NZ$350.

One interwebby link suggests the “four day nostalgia trip” cost around NZ $1500. but that may include a Taieri Gorge excursion at around NZ$250 included?.

Then again with such nostalgia remaining a natural fairy tale there may well be few takers for a reinstated Southerner but if they are to pay the real actual costs not in sufficient numbers for a viable “service”

As a reference Intercity bus ChCH to Dunedin at NZ$45.

Now as a child I travelled twice from Waiau to CHCH first to see the film of Her Late Majesty’s Coronation then again to view her commonwealth visit c1953/54 by steam train. I have also travelled the Coastal Pacific ChCH to Picton and 1990 did a trip Palmerston north to Hamilton, then to Tauranga for a one night stay, return to Cambridge, to Rotorua return and back to Palmy. Have also indulged in a couple of trips Wairarapa to Wellington that I had the privilege of subsidising through Wellington Regional Council Rates
That is about the extent of my NZ railway travel and I did enjoy the experiences but being charged to keep commuters on trains not so much. So by all means reinstate the Southerner but don’t expect me to subsidise it.