Dear Wellington Regional Council,

I understand that the GWRC is introducing a new timetable on the Johnsonville Line with an increased number of train services.

A) Can I please have a copy of any and all information held about any changes to the operating costs for the Johnsonville Line to support the new timetable ?

B) Can I please have a copy of any and all information held about any changes to the capital costs for the Johnsonville Line to support the new timetable ?

C) Can I please have a copy of any and all information held about any changes to the costs of providing additional Maitangi trains for the Johnsonville Line to support the new timetable ?

D) Can I please have a copy of any and all information held about any estimates on the predicted changes to patronage on the Johnsonville Line as a result of the new timetable ?

If this information is held in electronic form, I would prefer it was provided to me in its complete and original electronic format. Also, I would prefer that any correspondence on this information request be via the FYI web site.

Yours faithfully,

Tony Randle

Dear Andrea Houlihan,

Thanks you for provision of the Tranzmetro report on additional services for the new Johnsonville Line timetable.
I do want to make three following points to confirm the request is complete.
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1) The substantive response document from TranzMetro (27 August 2015) starts by stating it:
"Provides a cost summary for implementing the new Johnsonville timetable"
and ends with:
"5. Recommendation
Approval and issue a budget variation for $213,589 in FY16 in order to implement the new Johnsonville timetable"

I would also to have expected to some form of approval document that approves this recommendations and a copy of the budget variation for $213,589 to fund this service change.
* Can I ask that the GWRC confirm that there are no funding approval and/or budget variation documents associated with implementation of the new Johnsonville Line timetable as recommended in the TranzMetro document ?
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2) Also, with respect to my original question C, the GWRC response refers to "the additional train maintenance and electricity costs associated with the new Johnsonville timetable". I would to have expected the GWRC also has costs associated with additional the Maitangi train (such as loan funding, depreciation or long-term maintenance charges) that was provided by GWRC to support extra services under the new timetable.
* Can I confirm that the GWRC does not incur any other costs for the 4 unit Maitangi train passenger that was provided to support the new Johnsonville timetable such as loan funding, depreciation or long-term maintenance charges ?
* If the GWRC do incur other costs for the 4-unit Maitangi train provided to support additional services on the Johnsonville line (such as loan funding, depreciation or long-term maintenance charges), can the GWRC please provide a copy of these costs ?
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3) the response to Question D states “Specific patronage estimates on the Johnsonville Line as a result of the timetable changes have not been undertaken“. I must note that my request D is broader than asking for “Specific patronage estimates …”, it actually asked about “ANY estimates on the predicted changes to patronage on the Johnsonville Line as a result of the new timetable” (caps added for emphasis).

I also note that the GRWC response to question C includes the statement “These costs will be managed within existing budgets and are expected to be at least partially offset by an increase in patronage”. This indicates the GWRC has had some advice “on the predicted changes to patronage on the Johnsonville Line as a result of the new timetable”.
* Can the GWRC please provide a copy of the advice it holds that the change to the Johnsonville line timetable will result an increase in patronage as stated in its response to Question C ?
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Yours sincerely,

Tony Randle