Northland rail line: $110m investment 'hugely significant' for Northland

Thursday, 30 January 2020

The investment of $110 million into the Northland rail line is hugely significant, Winston Peters, Shane Jones and mayor Sheryl Mai say. Video first published January 30, 2020.

A nearly $110 million investment in Northland's rail has been described as 'seriously significant' for the region's economy.

The $109.7 million package will invest in the North Auckland Line and help get trains to Whangārei's port at Marden Point.

It was announced at a gala event and train ride in Whangārei on Thursday, led by State Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones.

Northport at Marsden Point, Whangarei has the ability to expand east and west.

The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and is on top of a $95m maintenance investment announced in September 2019.

**READ MORE:

In September, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced $94.8m for rail maintenance on the North Auckland Line.

* Northland rail line: KiwiRail boss says rail track would have closed within a year

* Northland rail line: Link to Marsden Point 'next step'

This KiwiRail graphic breaks down the $109.7 million investment announced on Thursday.

* Case to upgrade Northland rail line 'marginal'

* Auckland port move: Government to explore options more fully**

The funding includes $40m to buy land for a rail corridor out to Marsden Point, where Whangārei's port, Northport, is situated.

Jones, who backs Northport taking on Ports of Auckland's work, said Northport was one of the only ports in New Zealand that did not have a rail connection.

'Having this land means that when the Government does make its final decision about a future port in Northland, we will be ready to get going,' he said.

Peters, speaking from his personal point of view, said Ports of Auckland would need to move from its current location by 2035, so it made sense to start planning the move now.

The cost of building the link to Marsden Point was not known, but buying the land for the rail spur was the next step, he said.

The investment also includes $69.7 million to lower the tracks through tunnels on the line between Auckland and Whangārei, allowing hi-cube container freight to be transported by rail for the first time in Northland.

The mothballed rail line from Kauri, north of Whangārei, to Otiria will be reopened and a container terminal will be built at Otiria, by the Far North town of Moerewa.

'This is seriously significant,' Peters said. 'For the north district to realise its massive potential, it needs this.'

Whangārei mayor Sheryl Mai also agreed the funding was significant and meant a turnaround from decades of under-investment in Northland.

The rail investment complemented a $692m investment to four-lane State Highway 1 between Whangārei and Marsden Point, announced on Wednesday as part of the $12b infrastructure package.

Mai said both were important for the area, with rail and roads each having their own uses.

VALUE FOR MONEY

The funding completely upgrades the Northland rail line to take container freight and allows trains to run all the way to Otiria.

KiwiRail Group chief executive Greg Miller said 30,000 containers leave Northland by road each year, but they could move onto rail by September with this investment.

The tunnels could be upgraded to take containers at just 10 per cent of the cost originally thought, using clever engineering such as lowering the tunnel floors, he said.

KiwiRail would employ 200 extra staff, working at 15 different sites along the line to get the work done in time.

It was also working with the prison at Ngawha, to help willing prisoners into work.