The government’s war on rail is setting New Zealand up for failure, says the Rail and Maritime Transport Union.

The call comes as the government cuts $300 million more from rail investment to spend on roads that primarily benefit trucking.

RMTU General Secretary Todd Valster says the shift from rail to road shows a lack of strategy and concern about the future of New Zealand.

“First this government spent a billion dollars on cancelling rail-enabled ferries that are vital to our rail network, and now they are cutting another $300 million of rail investment to fund roads.

“Let’s be clear, both these policies are about running rail into the ground in favour of trucking. That spells disaster for congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and for New Zealand’s freight customers.

Mr Valster says whatever the Minister tries to claim, this isn’t about fixing potholes for commuters or people travelling by car, it’s about using billions of taxpayer dollars to further subsidise private freight trucking firms.

“Each truck that passes over a section of road causes the same damage as nearly 10,000 cars. Further cuts to rail funding, alongside the attack on our Cook Strait rail infrastructure will ensure thousands more trucks congesting our roads, increasing our carbon footprint and reducing our safety.

Mr Valster says rail is a critical part of our freight market.

He says tilting the field away from it will reduce competition and leave businesses that rely on domestic freight, and their customers, paying more.

“It will also make it harder for exporters to reduce the carbon footprint of their products – something that is becoming increasingly important to retaining international buyers. Rail freight has 70% fewer emissions per tonne than road freight.

“At a time when every other nation in the world is looking at how to shift freight from roads onto safer and cleaner modes of transport, this government's retrograde anti-rail approach is laying the groundwork for a generation of economic failure.”

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