For the first time in six years, a train will run on New Zealand’s Napier to Wairoa line on Wednesday.
A work train will run on the line this week, as part of ongoing works which will see log services return to the North Island railway thanks to a $5 million allocation from the New Zealand Government.
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said the rail line, which has been closed since 2012, will take large logging trucks off the road in the area.
“The project to re-open the line will pass a significant milestone when a work train travels up to Eskdale from Napier delivering ballast,” Peter Reidy said.
The first work train is scheduled to move on the line on June 6.
“Having work trains running is an important part of getting the line open to shift logs by rail and take trucks off the road. The line is expected to be ready for logging trains by the end of the year.”
There will be a ceremony to mark the return of trains at KiwiRail’s operations depot in Ahuriri.
The line is being re-opened by KiwiRail using $5 million of funding from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund. Work is expected to take two years to fully complete.
The link has laid idle since severe storms damaged a section of the track north of Wairoa in 2012. Funding to get the project off the ground came in February, with the Government’s funding allocation.
Hi All,
Good on Kiwi Rail. Lets Hope this can Activate Other Branch Lines that have been closed for Various
Reasons
Yes Andrew, one that I would love to see operating again is the Okahukura-Stratford line. I was fortunate to travel on this line many times when I was living in Taranaki. It was my preferred route to Auckland, rather than the Newmans bus.