Momentum is growing behind a plan to bring passenger trains to Canterbury, with local councils, the Government and the private sector all on board.
Environment Canterbury, the regional council, has funding earmarked for a feasibility study into whether existing corridors could support passenger services.
The Greater Christchurch Partnership Plan is investigating how the region will "accommodate growth from roughly 500,000 people today to more than 700,000 by 2050, while planning for a possible future population of 1 million people".
Chairman Deon Swiggs told 1News the work would start next year and could take up to two years to complete.
He said Christchurch City, Waimakariri and Selwyn District Councils were in discussions, as right now some bus services were proving too popular.
"We've got too many people on the buses. We've got buses leaving where you don't have people being able to get on to those buses. That's a real problem. That's a now issue," Swiggs said.
"At the moment there are buses that could be trains in the future or there could be different modes of public transport that might come around and we might have hovercrafts in the future, who knows."
Christchurch City Mayor Phil Mauger said it was important to think about how people are going to get around the city as it grows.
"Mass Rapid Transit is a big project and it's not something we're going to build overnight. It'll happen in stages.
"Right now, the important thing is protecting the route. If we don't do that and development gets in the way, it could make the job much harder and more expensive later on."
Mauger said it was about planning for "the Christchurch my grandkids will live in, so 20, 30 and 50 years from now".
"We should make sensible improvements today while making sure we don't close off the choices that future generations are going to need."
Selwyn District Mayor Lydia Gliddon said her council supported the Mass Rapid Transit project and the work to build a strong business case, as planning would also consider "the future extension to Rolleston as our district continues to grow”.
"Here in Selwyn, we are seeing more people looking for alternatives to sitting in traffic every day," she said.
"And in the short term, we believe the best value for money comes from building on the progress already being made with bus services, park and ride facilities and better transport connections to Christchurch.
"We're always keen to work with central government and our regional partners to improve public transport, recognising that funding is a challenge for councils and communities alike."
Mainland Rail's founder and Pounamu Tourism Group chief executive Paul Jackson said that the company was excited about the growing conversation around commuter rail in Canterbury amid the success of Auckland's City Rail Link.
"We've been delighted with proven demand shown by our sold-out Crusaders' Express and the regional Mainlander services, with passengers continuing to snap up every seat," Jackson said.
"Rail has been very open about looking at a Rolleston to Christchurch in the south and a potential Rangiora to Christchurch in the north commuter pilot as a natural next step. We're talking to a number of possible funding partners and hope to soon provide more information on progress."
Waimakariri District Mayor Dan Gordon praised the efforts made by Mainland Rail, adding that the council supported initiatives that "improve regional connections and provide more transport choices for our communities".
"We support Mainland Rail's efforts to secure funding for this pilot and look forward to seeing what it can deliver for Canterbury."
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