The Napier – Gisborne Railway

1. The Napier – Gisborne Railway

2. What is it? • Part of the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line • Runs for 214 km north of Napier • Completed only in 1942 • Difficult alignment – curves, grades, long tunnels, high bridges, poor geology • 21 tunnels, 85 bridges • Exposed to weather damage – Bola • Gisborne/Matawhero only freight points

3. What does it do • Not much • 70 return trains in 2009-10 – only 1-2 trains/week • 23,600t in 2009-2010 year • Earns Kiwirail $587,000 revenue (under 0.5% total freight revenue) • About 67% of this is attributable to the line • Mainly fertiliser • Other traffic – refrigerated products, general • No intermediate traffic • Mainly only relates to Napier-Hastings, not wider network • 58% in value goes to or from Napier-Hastings, much more in tonnage terms • Traffic declined from 2004-05 (56,200t, $1.2m revenue) • Tourist trains • GCVR • others

4. Typical train today Southbound near Waikokopu. Photo: Kiwirail.

5. Why was it built? • To connect Gisborne to national network • After two false starts, one north and one south • In era when road transport poor • Offered passenger and freight faster connections than previously • Reduced the district’s isolation • 30 mile limit in place

6. Railway closures not new in district • Two former branch lines closed, • Motuhoura (1959) • Ngatapa (1931) • With no lasting impact • Other important local railways also closed, their task done, or superseded by newer technology • Gentle Annie • Sponge Bay

7. What was the railway’s role • Wide range of freight, consignment sizes • Wagon load traffic, not train load • About 100-200,000 tonnes freight a year. • Many small stations where freight handled • Important commodities 1960s • Livestock • Watties (in and out) • Meat (including Wairoa) • Indigenous logs (south of Wairoa) • Aggregate • Fruit • Oil products in • What is now courier traffic

8. Typical train then • Individual wagon loads • Low capacity 4-wheel wagons • Livestock wagons • Open highside wagons • No containers • Steam locomotives • Short trains • Several trains/day on the line

9. Typical train then Southbound near Muriwai in May 1964. Photo: NZRLS (R Merrifield).

10. Passengers • Was a useful link in the past • Two daily railcar services each way • Local role, intermediate traffic • now car, bus • Long distance role • now car, bus, plane • Relationship with Wellington, not Auckland • Even then, car/bus/plane to Auckland • Tourist trains • Steam excursions • Regular tourist trains difficult financially

11. Tourist trains? Beach Loop, April 1964. Photo NZRLS (R Merrifield).

12. Whole railway has changed • Tourist trains for passengers • No livestock, courier, less than wagon load traffic • Not much single wagon load either • Focus on train load or part train load • And movements by container • “On-line” traffic important • Fewer, longer, heavier trains

13. So has Gisborne’s economy • Closures of major plants • Meat works • Watties • Increased horticulture (wine) • Increased logging • Development of the port • SH2 south has been markedly improved • Continuing improvements too

14. Railway retained for “wall of wood” • Repeatedly reviewed for 40 years. • In 2001-3, study identified poor economics, but some offsetting benefits. • Closure a distinct possibility then (Toll ownership) • Some local funding, then Govt bought track • Wait for “wall of wood” – expected 2006 onward • But that has been late – and when it came, was in the form of logs, too low value to transport long distances. • Processed wood could contribute to rail traffic

15. Railway and Gisborne • Have diverged • More Auckland traffic (e.g. wine) • More port traffic • Fewer large plants to feed rail

16. Operating costs • Impacted by scale • Rail a fixed cost business • Low volumes, high unit cost • High volumes, lower unit cost • Track costs about $2m/year; • Five trains/week would cost overall about $4.5m • Two person crewing because of poor communications • Crews based in Napier – return by car • Track in reasonable condition, but axle load lower than main lines. • Significant increase in traffic levels would make investment in reducing costs more feasible • Loco and wagon availability an issue

17. How the line might survive • Needs volume • Hence the “anchor tenant” concept – a customer that will have large volumes to transport south (or north). • Volumes will drive frequency, bigger and more efficient trains • Recent tunnel work has allowed 9ft 6in hi-cube containers • Better frequency will attract other customers or more from existing ones.

18. What are the prospects? • Forestry manufacturing plants • e.g.Hikurangi Forest Farms • Logs from Wairoa, and local log shuttles • Overflow from port? • Higher value items • But increased coastal shipping? • More container traffic (tunnel improvements) • 12,500 TEU/year potential • More fertiliser and other northbound traffic • Major new industry? • Oil exploration? • Oil products supply to the district? • Aggregate? Lime? Wine? Meat? Grain? Milk?

19. Why do you want the railway? • Very low use • So very little cost to the region if it was withdrawn • Is it a future perspective? • Alternative to the port when full? • Need the railway for traffic growth? • View that railway is necessary for development? • Relates to why railway built in the first place. • Not forgotten in collective memory?

20. Future • Good convergence between idea that railway is needed to carry large quantities of future traffic; and the need of the railway to have that traffic to survive. • But when will it come? • can’t wait forever. • Needs local effort and will to ensure traffic for the railway • Kiwirail doing its bit to attract freight • Options – grow or mothball