September 28, 2011

Mothballing Northland rail line short sighted

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union is backing a petition to save Northland's rail network.

The petition, signed by over 10,000 people, will be presented at Parliament next month.

RMTU General Secretary Wayne Butson said that mothballing of provincial rail lines was short sighted.

“We support the efforts of the Save Our Rail coalition in Northland,” he said. “They know that to have a world class transport infrastructure means a commitment to a quality rail network as a key part of the transport supply chain.”

Once a rail line is mothballed, it becomes difficult to bring it back into operation, he said.

“The Rotorua Branch is a case in point. The line has been mothballed so long that the cost of reinstatement will be prohibitive as kilometres of rail are missing through it disappearing”

“KiwiRail needs an economic development approach for the rail network that looks to the long-term, rather than a short-term process of ‘managing’ it into extinction by systematic mothballing,” Wayne Butson said.

The RMTU will be among groups welcoming the petition when it is presented at Parliament on October 6.

ENDS

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