Three infrastructure companies have been shortlisted to help refine designs for the proposed Marsden Point Rail Link, a project Rail Minister Winston Peters says is critical to Northport’s future growth.
KiwiRail has selected Acciona, a Downer/HEB joint venture, and Martinus Rail to take part in a “design sprint” aimed at developing lower-cost options for the 19km rail connection.
Peters says the work is intended to provide the Government with greater certainty over the project’s cost before any funding decision is made.
“This 19-kilometre railway is needed. It is blindingly obvious that Northport requires a rail connection like every other major port in this country, and more specifically for a port identified by the major shipping lines as critical to New Zealand’s export future,” Peters says.
He criticised the previous Government’s handling of the project, saying it committed funding before detailed design work had been completed.
“The previous Government allocated $410 million, seemingly at random because they did so without any clue of the design or costs and subsequently received a billion dollar estimate from KiwiRail.”
Peters says the Government has taken a different approach by opening KiwiRail’s design data to the market and inviting companies to propose alternative solutions.
“Today, we are pleased to announce three companies will be competing in a design sprint to flesh out their low-cost design options and provide the Government with a far lower estimate with far higher confidence to proceed with.”
The shortlisted firms will investigate ways to reduce earthworks, optimise construction sequencing, explore alternative approaches to ground conditions and assess different bridge and level crossing designs.
Peters says the process reflects the Government’s broader approach to major infrastructure projects.
“Just as we have done with the ferries, our no-nonsense approach to infrastructure knows no boundaries.”
The proposed Marsden Point Rail Link would connect Northport to the national rail network and has been identified as a key infrastructure project for supporting freight growth in Northland.
