Greater Wellington Regional Council [GWRC] has announced that its “procurement partner” for purchasing Lower North Island hybrid trains will be Canadian consulting firm WSP.
In April, the government agreed to purchase 18 four-car, tri-mode trains, and associated infrastructure, for the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines.
This was part of the Lower North Island Rail Integrated Mobility project.
The process to appoint a procurement partner included a “robust open tender” process that saw nine proposals pitched.
The winning pitch was selected using a “price-quality evaluation methodology”.
Council chair Daran Ponter said the new trains and infrastructure will double peak services between Masterton and Wellington on the Wairarapa line.
“This new fleet will revolutionise life for commuters in Wairarapa, Hutt Valley, Manawatū, Horowhenua, and Kāpiti, who need access to Wellington, Porirua, and Palmerston North.”
Ponter also said the new infrastructure will quadruple services between Palmerston North and Wellington on the Manawatū line.
WSP has been operating and providing infrastructure and engineering advice for 150 years; its New Zealand operation previously traded as Opus and was originally a consultancy subsidiary of Works and Development Services Corporation.
WSP’s head of clients for transport, Angus Gabara, said the team is looking forward to working with Metlink and GWRC on providing decarbonised alternatives for inter-regional travel.
