Mainfreight chief executive Don Braid has welcomed a policy shift towards putting more freight on rail from transport minister Phil Twyford.
That’s despite a proposed fuel tax hike which could cost his company considerably.
Braid prefers to see freight off roads and onto rail for much of its journey and says the Government’s focus on rail services for freight is long overdue, Stuff reports.
Twyford’s draft Government Policy Statement on transport (GPS) puts millions more into rail while trimming costly state highway improvements.
Roads still comprise most of the funding, with increases to regional and local roads along with state highway maintenance – just not improvements.
That rail funding is earmarked for passenger rail services and urban transit however, while a wider “rail review” is taking place.
KiwiRail is generally funded from the wider government funding pool, not the National Land Transport Fund the GPS controls, which comes from fuel excise taxes.
This seems set to change, with one line noting that “the scope of the GPS is likely to expand to include aspects of rail freight and coastal shipping”.
“The Government understands that rail is a necessity and that it can be second corridor to take the load off the roading infrastructure,” Braid says.
“That’s not just for freight but for passengers as well. They are taking steps in that direction.”
Trucks wouldn’t vanish completely – Braid is clear the “last mile” won’t be filled by rail – but much of the load can be taken off.
Mainfreight uses rail for about $40m of business a year, but there are several blackspots in the country where rail services no longer reach, such as the Bay of Plenty and West Coast. KiwiRail says it moves about 17 million tonnes, or 30% of New Zealand’s exports.
National’s new transport spokesman Jami-Lee Ross says he hopes Braid will look further into the Government’s plans.
“Everything they are saying and everything they are putting in is gearing towards light rail and commuter rail and rapid transit. I’ve not seen anything that would improve freight journeys,” Ross says.
“In fact, the cuts to the state highway network funding would actually lead to a range of initiatives that would have improved travel time not going ahead.”
He agrees the transport network shouldn’t rely exclusively on roads but argues the Government’s changes will simply provide “trams down Dominion Road”.
“It’s all around moving people, not around moving goods.”
