On the last day of each month TDB will ask a range of progressive voices in NZ to write a guest blog on what they think ‘the most pressing issue in NZ right now’ is. This month our guest progressives are, Labour Party MP and Marriage Equality champion Louisa Wall; Unionist and human rights activist Tali Williams; and regional champion for the Labour Party, Stuart Nash.
Good call TDB,
Rail is a political lightening rod issue here in Gisborne & HB.
Stuart Nash see below a press release this month, is giving the regions of Napier & Gisborne some hope for the future as he is working behind the scenes so hard must are very unaware here, so for Stuart to speak to us all here on TDB, “our public voice” we are wrapped.
We hope Winston can feature on rail also some time as he is super rail supportive also.
Nash talks up reopening of rail link … (“Hawke’s Bay Today” – Mon 19th Oct 2015)
by Sophie Price
sophie.price@hbtoday.co.nz
Napier MP Stuart Nash is keeping the possibility of the Napier-Gisborne rail reopening on track, having recently had talks with KiwiRail.
He used the time to argue why the link was important to the region, encouraging KiwiRail to explore all options.
“KiwiRail listened,” he said. “What they will do is they will look at the facts and they will make a decision that they feel is best for their organisation, for the country and for the region.”
The link is currently up for debate with the transport SOE still considering tenders from tourism or freight rail operators
interested in running services on the line.
A spokesman for KiwiRail said it was not considering resuming services on that part of the network.
“However, we are still working through the evaluation process in regards (to) the tender (process) and will make an announcement in due course.”
Napier-Gisborne Railway Ltd director Ian Welch said while he could see the line opening up in the future, current Government policy appeared not to favour reopening.
NGRL was formed some time ago to facilitate the reopening of the Napier-to-Wairoa rail line, then eventually the Wairoa-to-
-Gisborne section.
Mr Welch said the section of the line between Napier and Wairoa had suffered the least damage and could be reopened with little capital required.
“Rail is probably the most efficient way of moving the northern forest logs to port.
Also it lessens the number of trucks and potential road fatalities.”
Tukituki MP Craig Foss said the evidence was that the line was hardly being used before the washout.
“Businesses were choosing not to use the line, and had been choosing not to do so for many years,” he said.
“I would be very concerned if the people of Hawke’s Bay were exposed to this as both taxpayers and ratepayers.”
One body that has put a tender in to provide a service on the Napier-Gisborne line is the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC).
Last year the council set aside $5.46 million to potentially part-fund the resurrection of a freight service on the line.”
“HBRC submitted an alternative proposal, not a compliant tender, involving a potential contract between HBRIC (Hawke’s Bay
Regional Investment Company) and/or Napier Port and KiwiRail,” said Liz Lambert, HBRC interim chief executive.
“To date no response has been received from KiwiRail.”
-ends-
Talking Point –
Rail service viable and essential … (“Hawke’s Bay Today” – Tues 20th October 2015)
by Alan Dick – “The immediate challenge however is how to handle the “wall of wood” from the Wairoa forest”
In your article “Nash talks up re-opening of rail link” (Monday, October 19), MP Craig Foss, as a determined opponent of rail,
is quoted: “The evidence was that the line was hardly being used before the washout.” He added: “Businesses were choosing not
to use the line and had been choosing not to for many years.” He is wrong.
In fact, in the immediate period leading up to the washouts, three or more fully loaded trains were moving squash and other products from Gisborne to Napier Port – and demand was such that double the number of trains could have been running except
that KiwiRail could not provide the required locos, wagons and drivers.
What had happened?
From 2010, all Hawke’s Bay and East Coast MP’s, with the exception of minister Foss, had been urging businesses to use rail.
Correctly sensing demand, KiwiRail spent $300,000 to lower the bed of three tunnels, to finally enable full capacity 40ft high-cube containers to be carried on the line.
Then entrepreneurial Gisborne-based transport operator Steve Weatherell (running 80 trucks nationally) took the opportunity as
a freight forwarder to shift his customers’ product from road to rail.
For his customers, a smooth, damage-free ride for their sensitive product and direct movement of full containers from packhouse to portside without repacking or double handling.
For Weatherell Transport, better service for their customers and avoiding a difficult road.
For Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, dual transport mode choice, reduced heavy traffic congestion on a difficult route, and consequently safety and environmental benefits.
What a tragedy when the washouts struck in March, 2012.
Avoidable with proper attention to culvert and drainage maintenance,
had the line remained intact KiwiRail would have now had a fully viable rail business with all the resultant environmental and economic
benefits for our region.
That takes us to today.
The Gisborne container freight market potential remains and, in fact, will grow with a wood processing hub to be established.
Gisborne Port is a specialised log exporter but is unlikely to ever attract export container ship calls. Napier is the logical container
destination, being closer than Tauranga.
The immediate challenge, however, is how to handle the “wall of wood” from the Wairoa forest harvests, which will ramp up dramatically over the next few years.
Not including logs, which will continue to move by road to processors like Pan Pac, Wairoa export log harvests will move from 323,000 tonnes next year to a million tonnes and more from 2020.
Forest managers believe that conservatively half of that volume can, and should, move by rail from a log hub at Wairoa to Napier Port.
There will still be plenty of work for truckers, moving logs on short trips from the harvest sites to the log hub and
carrying extra volumes direct to the port.
There is a viable business for a rail operator on the East Coast line, based initially just on Wairoa logs alone but with heritage steam tourism and Gisborne container potential. KiwiRail have at least two such proposals on their desk.
And the worst case outcome? KiwiRail rejects the rail freight proposals in favour of a lease to cycle or golf cart tourism promoters.
The then consequence of State Highway 2 having to handle quadrupled log volumes will be heavy traffic congestion from a road transport industry with insufficient capacity to cope, the road being wrecked, tragic deaths and injuries from accidents, and game–changing opportunity for the economic and social development of northern Hawke’s Bay lost forever. It can’t be allowed to happen.
*Alan Dick is a Hawke’s Bay regional councillor, former Napier mayor and is chairman of the Hawke’s Bay regional transport committee.
* Business and civic leaders, organisers, experts in their field and interest groups can contribute opinions.
Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz or write to: Hawke’s Bay Today, PO Box 180, Hastings : 4156
The fact that our ” out of touch ” with the NZ people yet ” in bed ” with
the world powers promoting the NWO – our NZ government allowing the rape and pillage of our resources, land, water and seas to be sold to the highest bidder. Our islands are being put up for ownership ( and abuse ) by the wealthiest who want to control and own our country, not for the benefit of all, but for the glory and greed of the few upper 1 % ers. Our government and the lack of sound and mature leadership is one of the main problems here as it trickles down and negatively impacts so much and so many.
The second major issue here in NZ, as I see it, is that maybe most ! all NZ media are dominated by biased folks who dislike anyone who writes what they do not like or do not agree with. Freedom of speech is a rare thing here and the lack of it is seen in the most unlikely places where you would think that bias should not exist much at all.
There are so many other pressing issues to mention but then I am not sure whether my comments are even welcome here on The Daily Blog much anymore. Other outlets maybe more welcoming and less biased. Disappointed. I”ll take another chance and post maybe one last comment here and see what happens.
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