Newcomers to Kapiti 'distraught' over missing Paraparaumu McDonald's train

Newcomers to the Kapiti Coast are speaking up about a train carriage that isn't there - and how the mix up has affected their lives.

PARAPARAUMU - Michael Flanders, like many newcomers to the Kapiti Coast, is upset and confused - and it's all to do with a missing Paraparaumu McDonald's restaurant train.

"When you are looking at places you want to move your family too, of course a train restaurant carriage at McDonald's is going to catch your eye," the father of four said.

Flanders, originally from Newcastle in the UK, said it was 'a literal roll of the dice' whether the family moved to Auckland or the Kapiti Coast.

"Frankly, it was the train dining carriage that sold it."

Now he's lobbying to have any references to the train at McDonald's taken off the internet to avoid confusing any other potential migrants eyeing up the area because of the supposed train carriage.

"Locals living here in Kapiti might not care, but they've had time to accept it. They aren't the ones having to explain to an upset family who travelled across the world that what they expected simply isn't true."

Flanders isn't alone in his concerns.

"The McDonald's train was definitely a factor in our decision to move to Kapiti," said Monika Van Neeys originally from Cape Town, South Africa.

"...Then you get here, and it's like Giza without the Great Pyramid. We feel like we've been sold a lie."

Van Neeys said she knew something was wrong when the family first approached the central shopping area of Paraparaumu for the first time, describing a 'horrible sinking feeling.'

"We got very excited when we saw the alluring lights from the strip of fast food restaurants, liquor stores and gas stations - but as we slowed down at the Big M we realised our mistake: the pictures were wrong - the train had gone."

Van Neeys describes her family as ' shattered.'

"What can I say? We are making the best of it, but it's hard at times."

The families told the Cryer there are many other disappointed migrants in the area, and although they don't blame Kapiti locals they feel it's important to warn others considering moving to the area.

"It's not just foreigners who feel hard done by - I spoke with a Kiwi woman who missed a great opportunity to live in Taupo with its decommissioned plane restaurant, but thought the train in Paraparaumu offered a more interesting dining experience," Van Neeys said.

"She was once excited to be moving here - not any more."