KiwiRail says repair work to the earthquake damaged Main North Line may finish sooner than expected to allow the first freight trains to run along it within a month.
“We are getting very close to moving freight again on the rail network in the South Island, just nine months after the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake,” says KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy.
“The line is a critical part of the New Zealand’s transport network, carrying around 1 million tonnes of freight annually before the earthquake,” he says.
“Getting the line open, even on a restricted basis, will ease pressure on the alternative SH1 freight road. We expect it will take up to 2000 trucks per month off the inland road,” says Reidy.
“Reopening the line will not only lower the cost to customers of moving freight between the islands, but it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions as every tonne of freight carried by rail is a 66% emissions saving for New Zealand,” says Reidy.
“I am proud of the achievements to date and how our KiwiRail people are working together with our NZTA partners in the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance have responded to what had been a devastating blow to the network,” he says.
“This has been a mammoth task. When the repair job is complete, it will represent one of the rail’s biggest rebuilds in New Zealand since World War II,” says Reidy.
“There were close to 60 major damage sites including tunnels, bridges, embankments, and more than 100 slips and landslides buried the line. Approximately 60 bridges were damaged, and repairs are being carried out at more than 750 sites,” he says.
“The initial opening is a restricted one, with low-speed, low-frequency services, and a sizeable amount of work remains to return the line to its pre-quake state,” says Reidy.
“Freight services will initially run at night so that work on the rail and road networks can continue during the day. KiwiRail’s passenger service, the Coastal Pacific, will remain on hold until 2018 for the same reason,” says Reidy.
“It will also help with the reinstatement of State Highway 1 and the railway by moving materials to work sites along the route,” says Reidy.
