Dunedin's Hillside may be back on track

Tuesday, 25 June 2019

The Government has allocated $1 billion of funding for KiwiRail, but is yet to be drawn on plans for Dunedin's old Hillside Engineering workshop.

Dunedin's former Hillside Engineering workshop may be back on track.

The 7-hectare complex was built in the heart of South Dunedin in 1875, and employed about 1200 people at its peak. Most of its work was for KiwiRail before it closed in 2012 with the loss of 90 jobs.

It was not mentioned in the Government's official statement on rail investment as part of the recent Wellbeing Budget, but was raised by associate Transport Minister Shane Jones, who told media the closure was a 'mark of shame' under the previous Government.

'Such a legacy institution … huge human capital reserves were squandered and lost, so I look forward to bringing a proposal forward to KiwiRail and to the ministers who comprise the regional growth team so that we turn around the fortunes of places like Dunedin.'

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KiwiRail group chief executive Greg Miller said $300 million had been allocated for regional rail projects this year through the Provincial Growth Fund.

'KiwiRail is considering a range of projects, which could include upgrades to Hillside Workshops. No decisions on those projects have been made yet,' he said.

KiwiRail received an overall $1 billion boost in this year's Budget, with plans including 100 new locomotives and 900 new container wagons to replace – and repurpose – old stock. Major upgrades have also been signalled for maintenance facilities in the Hutt and Christchurch.

Jones said the Government's investment in rail would be coupled with vocation training and apprenticeships to meet the country's skill shortages.

Transport Minster Phil Twyford said rail had been in a state of managed decline 'for too long'.

Freight needed to be moved between regions, particularly ports, and rail needed to compete against freight trucks.

Twyford said a report on the future of rail in New Zealand was expected within weeks, but would not be drawn on a possible plan for Hillside.

A spokeswoman for Jones said KiwiRail could apply to the Provincial Growth Fund to reinstate Hillside, but no applications had been received.

Officials were working on a Dunedin package and the minister hoped 'to be making announcements later this year', she said.