Open Letter To Board Chair Demands Answers On Fate Of Dunedin Railways

Dunedin Railways Limited workers who will lose their jobs today are delivering an open letter (attached below) to Dunedin Railways Limited (DRL) Board Chair Kevin Winders at his home at midday today.

The workers will then leaflet the suburb where Mr Winders resides in protest at what they say is the sabotage of a business owned by the people of Dunedin.

Keep Dunedin Rail Rolling spokesperson Dave Kearns says the open letter asks serious questions about DRL that have been largely unanswered or ignored up to now.

Mr Kearns says DRL Board Chair Kevin Winders promoted the so-called ‘mothballing’ plan that saw Dunedin Railways cease running trains back in March when COVID19 struck.

He says Dunedin Railways has since failed to apply for an extension of the government wage subsidy, failed to advocate for a passenger commuter trial, failed to apply to the Provincial Growth Fund, and failed to apply for government funding support for the tourist industry.

Mr Kearns says 51 people will lose their jobs and the likelihood of this iconic railway and tourist attraction ever resuming operations has been severely undermined.

“We believe this is testimony to a lack of vision and leadership. KiwiRail is recommencing running the TranzAlpine on 4 July, and AJ Hackett Bungy has saved twenty jobs with support from government targeted funding to name but two examples of other businesses that have reconfigured.”

Mr Kearns says if the existing Board and senior management are not able to promote the business, then they need to step down and allow others to do the job.

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