Rapid Transit in the Wellington region:
The GPS defines rapid transit as:
“A quick, frequent, reliable and high-capacity public transport service that operates on a permanent
route (road or rail) that is largely separated from other traffic.” The National Policy Statement for
Urban Development (NPS-UD) shares the same definition for ‘rapid transit service’, but extends it to
“any existing or planned” service. “Planned” means planned in a regional land transport plan such as
this plan, and approved under the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA).
The NPS-UD introduces a new requirement for Wellington’s regional policy statement, and the
district plans of Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City, Porirua City and Kāpiti Coast District, to
enable building heights of least 6 storeys within at least a walkable catchment of current and
planned rapid transit stops, approved under the LTMA. This means that rapid transit identified in this
plan has a connection to the land use controls in these Resource Management Act (RMA)
documents.
The NPS-UD also has directions to enable building heights and density commensurate to levels of
existing and planned public transport general y. This plan and the Wellington region’s RMA
documents work together to enable more people, businesses and community services to be located
in areas well-serviced by existing and planned public transport.
The rapid transit network and services for the Wellington region comprise the Kāpiti, Hutt, Melling
and Johnsonville rail lines. The Mass Rapid Transit corridor proposed by the Let’s Get Wellington
Moving (LGWM) programme (once the rapid transit stops are confirmed) will also form part of this
rapid transit network.
The rail lines are part of Metlink’s core public transport network. Plans to upgrade this network to
increase service frequency and capacity are contained in the GW Regional Public Transport Plan and
reflected in the Significant Activities section of this Plan’s programme of activities. These upgrades
will ensure that the rail services are “quick, frequent, reliable and high-capacity" to enable greater
intensification around the rail stations. [could we include a summary statement about the change in
service frequency that is proposed eg, in a similar way to that in para 3 of the WRGF text below?]
The Let’s Get Wellington Moving Mass Rapid Transit corridor will be developed as part of that
programme. under the Official Information Act 1982
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under the Official Information Act 1982
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Document Outline
