'Govt to review rail line to Northland'

Northland rail won't be shut down this week, Transport Minister Joyce says; Kiwirail to announce review next year

20th Dec 10, 3:09pm by Alex Tarrant

By Alex Tarrant

KiwiRail will announce a consultation process to review the future Northland rail early next year, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Stephen Joyce told interest.co.nz, saying suggestions from pro-rail campaigners the government was poised to announce the closure of Northland rail on December 23 were incorrect.

Joyce is set to respond to a written parliamentary question from Greens MP Gareth Hughes on December 23rd on what date Kiwirail would begin consultation on the future of Northland rail in the new year.

"The idea that the minister is poised to make an announcement [on the future of Northland rail on the 23rd] is incorrect. Kiwirail will start a consultation process on the future of the line early next year," Joyce's spokeswoman said.

"I don’t know where that’s come from," she said.

Labour MP Trevor Mallard blogged about Northland rail on Labour's Red Alert blog, saying Kiwirail was this week "likely to begin consultation on the closure of rail in the far north on behalf of the government".

I’ve got an opinion on this question which is not that popular with friends on both the right and left.

I think the rail link to Marsden Point should be completed. It is probably the key to a decent integrated transport system for New Zealand.

Marsden Point is the best port in the country. Deep water, natural and because it is so far north it saves sailing time for the massive ships that will be servicing NZ in the future.

The road industry hate the idea. Port of Auckland’s owner not impressed. Auckland colleagues don’t agree.

But worth talking about before the options are narrowed.

Hughes was also unaware as to where the idea that the future of the lines would be announced on December 23 came from. An email from the TransitionTowns.org.nz group suggested a December 23 announcement.

"As part of Kiwirail’s turnaround plan these lines are up for review. There’s four of these regional lines which are slated for either closure or mothballing," Hughes said.

"[Kiwirail is] trying to find anchor tenants and I understand they’ll be running consultations on the line’s viability. I understand these consultations are going to be early next year," he said.

Kiwirail's NZ$4.6 billion 'turnaround plan' was announced earlier this year with government to inject NZ$750 million into it over three years.

Chief executive Jim Quinn said the company was responding to a signal by the Government, which owns it, "to focus the scarce capital we get into the most productive areas where the revenue is".

He denied that KiwiRail had an aggressive closure agenda, but expected all four lines to be mothballed by 2012 unless the communities they served could show ways of making them viable in the short-term.

Here are comments from Hughes on the Auckland-Northland rail line from FrogBlog:

Northland to Auckland rail: Under threat

The Northland rail line that links Auckland and Whangarei, is one of four lines facing closure, as part of Kiwirail’s Turnaround Plan. It’s loss would be a huge tragedy for the region.

The line is a significant community strategic asset that gives the region economic development options now and in the future. While it is not currently being heavily used for freight, the line has potential to be used more in the future. This is especially true if the government was willing to invest the $80 million needed to link the rail line to Marsden Point, New Zealand’s best deep-water port.

Upgrading the rail line and expanding the port could mean more economic development and jobs for Northlanders in the future.

Closing the line will mean more heavy logging trucks on State Highway 1 and also more accidents. Trucks are involved in 16 percent of all deaths on NZ roads, even though they comprise only four percent of the vehicle fleet.

Keeping the line open also gives us another, much more energy efficient way to transport goods if the price of oil continues to rise. Last week the New Zealand price of petrol passed $2 a litre and I think it’s vital we prepare for the end of cheap oil.

A recent Parliamentary report The Next Oil Shock states that another supply crunch is likely soon after 2012, and oil prices will stay high because low-cost reserves are near exhaustion. It warns that the world economy could suffer recurrent recessions as the price fluctuates.

It makes sense to keep the rail line in working order in preparation for future oil price shocks. Ultimately the line’s future is a political decision, and the region can send the Government a strong message to save the line. That’s why I was so pleased to meet with groups in Kaiwaka and Whangarei who are prepared to fight to keep the line open.

(Update adds link, comments from Herald story on turnaround plan in May this year)

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6 Comments

by coggo | 20th Dec 10, 4:20pm 1292815202

Steel wheels rolling on steel rails have a future ....hugely more efficient than compressed rubber on petroleum based asphalt.....we should be quietly and purposefully getting our entire rail system upgraded and coastal shipping happening again.....and the govt should be prepared to legislate to make it happen.........aye

by MartynC | 20th Dec 10, 4:42pm 1292816577

omg, i can't believe i agree with something Trevor Mallard is saying :-)

by Horace the Grump | 20th Dec 10, 8:43pm 1292831018

You do realise that the rail line from Auckland to Whangarei is significantly longer that the road from Auckland to Whangarei, so you have a major distance problem there straightaway.

The line would also need to have major upgrading work to get the average line speed and axel loadings up to a standard to even start to compete with road, even before taking into account the distance problem.

Also, the link to Marsden Point is not viable, based on the log volumes available. It wasn't viable 10 years ago when the cost was around $20m and it is not viable now. If all of Northland was in forest plantations (not a bad idea considering how marginal most of the land is) then the link may be viable... or if there is a major ore body found in Northland that justifies the volumes, but that is equally unlikely..

Going through a consultation process is the right thing to do, but if the volumes ain't there, they ain't there, and as a country we can hardly afford to subsidise these rail lines for some feel good notion of the old days...

by noponies | 21st Dec 10, 3:39am 1292855956

Road only just makes sense with cheap Oil costs. Once petrol is sitting at $3 per litre that sense goes out the window. Its not just the cost of the fuel in the tank. What about the cost of the bitumen, the cost of running the machinery to do the repairs to the road network?

I think you need to think long term, and factor in a 2x oil cost increase. Rail is simply the most efficient transport network we have.

Its time for long term strategic thinking about a high energy cost / low energy availability future. Is this current govt capable, I think not.

by PhilBest | 21st Dec 10, 1:33pm 1292891600

Isn't it ironic that the same people who want to keep "Rail" going come hell or high water, don't want NZ's land to be put to use that might actually make the Rails we have run to every corner of the country, viable to operate.

I read a very interesting report to the Govt of South Africa recently. It suggested that Rail lines that relied mostly on one major customer, that were being run at a loss to the taxpayer, should simply be "given" 50/50 to the customer and the destination port authority. Then if THEY still couldn't run it more efficiently than simply paying truckies to carry the freight, no-one should object to simply shutting it down and using the land for roading improvements.

Coggo, that is a shallow assumption that just because steel on steel is more efficient than rubber on tarmac, rail must be better for an economy. Hulls on water is better again, but that doesn't mean we should build massive canals instead of either rails or roads. Roads and tyres have won the economic battle hands down in MOST sectors of the economy, and for obvious reasons to anyone with any expertise in logistics.

You say: do you want rails, and 25 million people in NZ, and/or a LOT more mines, smelters, refineries, etc; or are you willing to accept that low populations cannot afford to run modes of transport and other things, that require efficiencies of scale and highly concentrated economic activities?

by coggo | 22nd Dec 10, 1:14pm 1292976874

noponies comment....long term strategic thinking about a high energy cost / low energy availability future....says it all....