Eastern rail link may have future, say Greens | Taranaki News | Local News in Taranaki

CLOSING the Stratford – Okahukura rail line is another example of the Budget’s deficit of vision, said the Green Party.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce announced the KiwiRail “Turn-around Plan” last Tuesday before the Budget, which identified the line as one of four that could be closed or mothballed by 2012.
“It’s great that the Government is committed to investing some money in the future of rail freight,” said Green Party Transport spokesperson Gareth Hughes, “but the overall approach to transport spending is very short-sighted and will ultimately make New Zealand even more dependent on costly road transport.”
“The Ministry of Transport states that rail is six times more fuel-efficient than trucks for moving bulk freight.
“The additional safety, congestion and environmental benefits are substantial. Unfortunately, John Key’s government doesn’t seem interested in analysing the costs and benefits of the transport system as a whole,” said Mr Hughes.
“The narrow focus on rail lines that already achieve high revenues means that some strategically important lines, like the Stratford – Okahukura, may be lost.
“Oil prices are rising. We need to invest in rail so that it is a viable transport option for moving passengers and freight in the future.”
Mr Hughes said that closing lines or mothballing lines now, instead of investing in maintenance, would lead to higher costs in the future.
The Rotorua to Waikato line was mothballed in 2001 because it needed less than $2 million in repairs.
In 2008 when a tourism operator investigated reopening the line they found so many sleepers and tracks had been stolen it would cost about $10 million to repair and reopen the line.
“The Stratford – Okahukura line is of strategic importance because of the growing dairy industry in the region. There is a safer, more sustainable alternative to long queues of milk tankers on State Highway 3,” said Mr Hughes.
“We should be investing in rail because it is a more efficient, effective and cheaper way to move people and goods than costly motorways.
“If John Key’s Government wasn’t prioritising the Puhoi to Wellsford holiday highway, which currently carries less traffic a day than an arterial road carries in one hour in Auckland and Wellington, we would have plenty of money to bring the rail network up to speed.
“We need to invest more in rail to future-proof our economy and quality of life.”