Freight trains to start up again on Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch
Tuesday, 26 September 2017
After a week of wild weather, freight is back on the newly-repaired rail line between Picton and Christchurch.
The service on the Main North Line officially restarted on September 15 when a single train made the trip to great ceremony.
It was the only train to make the journey before the line closed due to 'adverse weather'.
A KiwiRail spokeswoman said freight trains would resume on the line on Tuesday night.
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She said further work had been done to 'improve the resilience of the rail network' over the weekend.
Group general manager network services Todd Moyle previously said it was 'disappointing' weather forced the service to be put on hold so soon after it reopened following earthquake repairs.
He said the closures were made 'purely as a precautionary measure' and he expected the line would have to be closed up to 25 days a year based on its current condition.
KiwiRail was taking a 'conservative approach' to weather, both for the safety of staff and so freight was not trapped, he said.
Two freight trains per weeknight are scheduled to run on the line, which has had significant repair work since it was badly damaged in last November's earthquake.
The rail line was left clear during the day and on weekends so work crews could continue upgrading the line and repairing the adjacent State Highway 1, which is due to reopen before Christmas.
THE RAILWAY REBUILD
The November 14 earthquake caused major damage to about 60 sites along the Main North Line, which had carried about 1 million tonnes of freight annually.
About 1500 workers have been involved in the rebuild – one of the biggest rail rebuilds in New Zealand since World War II.
About 1 million cubic metres of slip material has been removed so far.
KiwiRail plans to run limited services at night to allow rebuild work on the road and rail to continue during the day.
The line is also being used to bring building materials to construction sites, including some of the 3000 5-tonne concrete blocks needed to build new seawalls.
Its passenger service, the Coastal Pacific, will remain on hold until 2018.
Chief executive Peter Reidy said there was 'still a sizeable amount of work to be done before we return the line to its pre-quake state'.
Many of the repairs done so far were interim repairs that would have to eventually be replaced with permanent solutions.
The rail corridor was able to be repaired more quickly than the adjacent SH1 because tunnels protected some of the line from the worst slips and because the railway was narrower than the road.