• 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

• 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

Southbound near Waikokopu. Photo: Kiwirail.

• 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

• 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• Other important local railways also closed, their task done, or superseded by newer technology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

• 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

• 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

Southbound near Muriwai in May 1964. Photo: NZRLS (R Merrifield).

• 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

Beach Loop, April 1964. Photo NZRLS (R Merrifield).

• 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

• 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

• 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

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

• 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

• 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.

• 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?

• 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?

• 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