Closing the Gisborne Railway

This weeks KiwiRail decision to mothball the railway line between Napier and Gisborne, was not unexpected but is disappointing. Money is being raised to fund an investigation into the decision but the reality is this line has been troublesome for many years, has probably never been profitable , and therefore would require support from either ratepayers or taxpayers. 

Perhaps we might better understand the situation if we look at the history and the  many problems experienced . I have some knowledge of  the issues as a result of providing media coverage of many of the issues over the past 25 years.

Although development started in 1910 more or less towards the end of the great railway construction period work in earnest did not get underway until the 1920's . The job was not finished until1942 having been seriously disrupted by the great depression and a major flood in 1938 when 21 construction workers died. It was the last major line to be built in this country. 

In the 1980's the closure of Wattie's Gisborne's processing plant and the meat freezing works probably reduced freight volumes quite severely.

In 1987 Cyclone Bola  scoured out the south bank just south of Gisborne  resulting in a significant length of track left dangling in mid air. Effectively the terminus ended up 15 Km or more south of the city until the bridge was extended  at a cost of manymillions. I can still remember the official opening by then then Minister of railways Richard Prebble.

Of course while this was happening more shippers must have discovered road was both a cost effective and convenient alternative.

In yet another incident about 10 years ago a large railway crane collapsed the bridge over the  Nuhaka river, again putting the line was out of commission for several months and requiring millions more on repairs.

The most recent has been a huge washout that's estimated to cost at least $4 million to repair. Significant track and bridge work will also be required in the future. That's why KiwiRail seemed to have decided to call it a day.

Whether the line will ever be recommissioned is far from clear. While rail does have an important place in the economy, and in some countries is even making a comeback, these conditions may not ever exist for this particular line. Rail suits commodities such as coal, iron ore  and bulk liquids, especially where terminal facilities can be provided to minimise handling costs. Controversially if fracking could possibly create an oil industry the rail may be needed again.

Rail also has an advantage on longer distances where fuel and other efficiencies can be realised. The ability to electrify rail systems is also an issue as fossil fuels become more expensive and the environmental impact of their use more significant.  

Whilst 200Km seems a long way when driving its probably well short of ideal for rail.  Undoubtedly however the greatest difficulty is the lack of meaningful traffic volumes. The long touted wall of wood seems never to arrive and its possible if it ever does that it will be shipped overseas direct from Gisborne's port. 

Unlike roads that can be used for freight, buses, and private vehicles, rail has only one use and that is trains.

Trucks are also getting larger, more powerful,  and more efficient. More importantly road transport is point to point, eliminating the multiple handling that is inevitable with rail, and often involves travelling shorter distance overall. For many it is simply more convenient.

There have been some attempts to boost usage. In the early 1990's Wattie's used rail to ship tomatoes from Poverty Bay to their factory in Hastings for processing. Using rail might seem logical but it wasn't attractive. Before starting the journey loads  had to be shipped in the opposite direction just to get to the rail head. There was also extra handling as the loads were  transferred from trucks to rail wagons.  Also it needed an awful lot of tomatoes to make up a train load, so a lot of produce sat in the sun. And at times the factory ground to a stop awaiting the train, then when it did arrive was swamped by hundreds of tonnes of tomatoes waiting processing.

It didn't stop Wattie's growing tomatoes in Gisborrne, but they found trickling loads direct from field to factory by individuals truck  a better option.

Whilst Gisborne is very isolated and therefore dependent on transport links improving road transport has had a major impact on the railway. It may have even forced the overnight Gisborne to Napier ferry service to cease operating.

In reality rail was probably only viable when the 40 mile limitation  on road transport was in force.

Whilst the road between Napier and Gisborne is narrow, has many hill sections and is also subject to slips and disruptions but these are significantly less serious than those experienced by the rail line and it can be improved. The recently opened Matahorua gorge bi pass has already eliminated a very slow and slip prone section,  saving trucks perhaps 10 minutes. An extra $4 million has been allocated to building additional passing lanes.

Whilst good transport links are vital for any modern community this does not necessarily mean rail. Nelson at the top of the South Island is every bit as isolated as Gisborne, yet  seems to do well despite not having rail links.   

Also judging by the huge number of trucks operating travelling between Hawke's Bay and either Taupo or Palmerston North and points south, its clear that significant volumes of freight are still sent by road even when an functioning railway is available.