In response to severe traffic congestion experienced by commuters from the Waimakariri District heading into Christchurch following the earthquakes of 2010–2011, Environment Canterbury commissioned the "Greater Christchurch Northern Rail – Rapid Assessment" to examine the possibility of a temporary passenger rail service between Rangiora and Christchurch. Released on 17 July 2014, the aim of the report was to determine if existing rail facilities and equipment could be used, for low cost, to run a peak-time commuter service to relieve pressure on the road network until mitigation works could be completed to improve road capacity. It concluded that, while the best option for providing such a service would be one that ran from Rangiora to Addington with stops at Kaiapoi and Papanui and had connecting bus services, given the narrow and specific scope of a temporary service, it was too risky and could not be justified.