Below Rail Infrastructure, Engineering, Freight Rail

Main North Line repairs pushing towards expanded freight services

New Zealand’s Main North Line is getting closer to resuming full services, following months of work on the important rail link following the Kaikoura earthquake in late 2016.

The line, which runs between Picton and Christchurch, is a major link in New Zealand’s transport supply network, with over 1 million tonnes of freight travelling between the North and South islands every year before the earthquake left over 150 kilometres of its length damaged.

Intense repair works allowed an initial restricted re-opening of the line in September 2017 for low-frequency freight services running five nights a week to allow repair and rebuilding work to continue. However, these were quickly suspended after exceptionally high levels of rain in Kaikoura, followed by another limited reopening of the line in November.

After being hit by Cyclone Gita in late February, freight services were once again briefly closed down for track repairs.

Despite the repeated disruptions, KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy said that, since September, over 170,000 tonnes of freight have been moved on the rail line.

“We’ve seen excellent progress since then, even with the impact of events like Cyclone Gita. KiwiRail’s focus is on improving the resilience and reliability of the rail line for our customers,” Reidy said.

“With repairs being completed at many more sites since we reopened, trains are completing the trip more quickly and moving forwards we expect considerably fewer instances when the line needs to be closed on a precautionary basis due to heavy rainfall in the area.”

Reidy indicated the works over the coming months would soon allow for an incremental expansion of services on the line.

“Night-time only services will continue for the next few months to allow the rebuild of the rail and road works to continue during the day,” he said.

“However, we are getting closer to announcing a date for the return of our award-winning Coastal Pacific rail journey which is likely to be in time for the peak summer season towards the end of the year.”

1 Comment

  1. Hi All,
    Good on the New Zealand Gvmnt for having what It Takes to get the Railroads Up and Running despite the Set Backs and what have you. They pushed ahead to get the Job Done, If it had been Toll Rail still, They would have Thrown in the Towel long
    ago and Walked Away.