KiwiRail Turnaround funding well timed

KiwiRail Turnaround funding well timed

The Government’s commitment to invest $250 million to support the KiwiRail Turnaround Plan is well thought out and well timed, says the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation.

Federation chief executive Jeremy Sole said: “It is a very good time to do this. As the economy comes out of a recessionary period there are still lots of contractors in the industry with the spare capacity to do upgrade and maintenance work.”

Mr Sole said that the scheme would also provide a major boost for rail freight and its customers.

“The network has been maintained on a shoestring which creates a Catch 22 situation,” he said. “If you don’t maintain or improve then customers won’t come, but you can’t get customers to come unless you do the improvements.

“Minister Joyce also recently indicated that he is flexible with regard to discussions about mothballing lines. If there is a cornerstone customer in the wind and a line looks as though it could run profitably then he will delay any such decisions.

“Collectively these measures should create enough certainty for many more NZ businesses to once again include rail in their freight strategies.”

ENDS

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