Marton-New Plymouth line re-opens

The Marton-New Plymouth Line re-opened today and freight services are up and running, KiwiRail says.

The company says that KiwiRail staff and contractors have worked continuously to carry out significant clean-up and repair work on the rail lines and infrastructure, following storm damage last month.

The most damage occurred in the lower North Island with the Wairarapa, North Island Main Trunk, Palmerston North to Gisborne, and Wanganui branch lines all being affected by flooding, slips and washouts from a storm on June 19. The day before, a storm caused damage to the Hokitika, Midland and Stillwater Lines on the West Coast of the South Island.

Most lines were restored within days but works continued on more significant damage on the Marton to New Plymouth Line between Wanganui and Whareroa until yesterday evening.

Multiple slips and washouts undermined the line. The work to remediate the track included building retaining walls to try to prevent any further subsidence, clearing debris, fixing signals, and replacing ballast which has been washed away from underneath the rail.

During repair work, KiwiRail worked with affected customers to move their freight by rail where possible, and by road where the rail lines were closed.

Group General Manager Network Services Todd Moyle says KiwiRail’s top priority was getting customers’ freight where it needed to be.

“To meet our customers’ freight needs KiwiRail used a combination of road and rail, or ‘road-bridging’ to transport freight between Palmerston North and New Plymouth. In some cases, where freight was too heavy for road, KiwiRail stored it at our yards until the lines re-opened.

“When we have disruptions we deal directly with the main customers affected and have regular daily conference calls to monitor the situation. As we get booking requests from customers, our team call them and offer solutions tailored to their requirements and using rail where possible to keep costs down.”

As lines were re-opened, freight was moved by rail, sometimes using more wagons on trains to clear the backlog of freight.

Mr Moyle says there will be ongoing monitoring as well as further work to the New Plymouth line over the next six to eight months to effect permanent repairs.

ENDS

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