Alan Dick, Chairman, Regional Transport Committee re East Coast Rail

KiwiRail’s refusal to consider HBRC’s very responsible request for a short time extension to confirm equity investment in a Napier/Gisborne short line rail operation, is a great disappointment. It is a serious blow to regional economic development opportunities for northern Hawkes Bay and Gisborne, and without rail, State Highway 2 will be overwhelmed by logging trucks within a few years.

Kiwirail’s letter asserts that KiwiRail “has worked with the Council for almost two years on options to re-establish a rail operation”. In my opinion this is simply not true – previous advocacy to reopen the line since it was closed in 2012 was consistently frustrated. It was only on 25 November 2014 with refreshing new ministerial direction that KiwiRail indicated it would consider an offer by HBRC to lease the line – to be decided within three months by 1 March 2015. With this also covering the Christmas period, and with complex issues to be negotiated, the opportunity to present a fully informed business case was always going to be challenging.

The only consolation at this stage is KiwiRail’s statement that the line remains mothballed, rather than closed, giving an opportunity for a freight operation to resume should a commercially viable operation be identified in the future.

I’ll be advocating to the Regional Council that it request KiwiRail to reconsider the Council’s very reasonable request for a short-term extension so that outstanding matters can be finally resolved.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Transport Committee remains committed to modal choice for transport between Gisborne/Wairoa/Napier.

ends