The University of Otago is working to get passenger trains for students running from Christchurch to Dunedin.
"It really makes a lot of sense. At the start of each semester, you have about 2000 students coming from Christchurch to Dunedin, and most of them would be transported down in gas-guzzling vehicles," Dr Duncan Connors of the university’s Otago Business School, said.
The matter was mentioned in the latest Dunedin City Council agenda, which said "the service intended to offer a lower-emission option for students coming to Dunedin".
The report said Otago Polytechnic Te Pūkenga and the council supported investigations into market demand and the potential operating model for a pilot.
Dr Connors said the university’s target for net-zero emissions by 2030 was behind the plan.
