Engineering, Environment and Sustainability, Freight Rail

Freight services resume on cyclone-damaged section on Main North Line

Freight rail trains are now running again on the Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch, after the completion of repair works following the damage caused by Cyclone Gita in late February.

Heavy rainfall – exceeding 200mm over 18 hours in some areas – caused approximately 300,000 cubic metres of material spreading across 60 sites between Parnassus and Clarence in landslips, leading to the shutdown of both the rail line and the state highway.

According to KiwiRail, sections of track repaired after the damage wreaked by the Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016 had fared better than others.

“Overall, we were very pleased to see that areas were work had already been completed stood up very well, and we have been able to largely restore the track to the same condition it was prior to the storm,” KiwiRail’s group general manager Todd Moyle said.

Much of the works carried out by KiwiRail and NCTIR teams focused on clearing the large debris flows, while the shutdown also allowed for other planned work to be brought forward. For instance, one of the temporary bridges, which had been installed to enable the early re-opening last September has now been replaced with a new permanent structure.

“This is a great outcome as it will help improve running time of trains and closes out another major damage site from the original earthquake,” Moyle said.

“Looking ahead, our teams will continue to focus on works that improve the reliability of the line and reduce transit times, so we can better support our customers and resume pre-earthquake levels of operations as soon as possible.”