Media Release
Embargoed until 5am Tuesday 15 January 2013
Napier-Gisborne Rail line BERL Report released

An independent review of a KiwiRail report used to justify the mothballing of the Gisborne to Napier rail line has been released.

Known as the BERL Report, the review was paid for by donations from the public and undertaken by economists at BERL, with a specialist international rail engineering consultancy reviewing the capital aspects of the report.

The BERL Review has identified a number of inconsistencies within the KiwiRail report and raised a series of questions about the figures used and conclusions reached.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Transport Committee Chairman Alan Dick says he’s pleased the BERL report has finally been made public, and is looking forward to discussing it with Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne’s regional leaders have vowed to continue to fight for the future of the Napier-Gisborne rail line, which was mothballed in early December by KiwiRail.

The BERL Report will be available on the Rail Action Group website (www.rail.org.nz ) from tomorrow. [Tuesday]

ENDS

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