Major rail customers call for strong track operator

By PAM GRAHAM

Tranz Rail's customers are lobbying for a transparent and strong track-owning company when the track returns to the Government.

The Rail Freight Action Group is using the services of former Carter Holt Harvey logistics executive Paul Harper, who once worked for Tranz Rail.

The group was scathing of the old Tranz Rail and argued publicly for a Government track buyback but had wanted open access.

It has been lobbying Government officials and opposition political parties for transparency of decisions about the track and adequate funding.

It wants the track owning company to have a strong chief executive to counter a strong operator and good governance procedures.

Advertisements for a chief for the track company have appeared in both New Zealand and Australian newspapers.

The group has not talked to Tranz Rail chief executive David Jackson but met Paul Little and Mark Rowsthorn of Toll Holdings when Toll was buying Tranz Rail.

Its public position on the new operator is "cautious optimism" mostly because a Tranz Rail controlled by Toll Holdings has more money to invest.

Harper, who will speak at a land Transport Summit in Auckland next month, said there had not been any service improvements from Tranz Rail yet and if anything locomotive utilisation statistics had worsened.

The user group's members include Fonterra, Carter Holt Harvey, Solid Energy and other forest owners.

Mainfreight, another major user, is waiting for an overnight service it once used from Auckland to Palmerston North to be restored. Overnight railfreight from Auckland that once arrived in the lower North Island city by 6am does not arrive until midday, meaning freight forwarders can only offer a two day service to the region unless they use trucks.

Solid Energy is waiting to see how much Tranz Rail will spend on the coal route from the West Coast to Lyttelton so it can double output.

It needs trains to turn around inside 24 hours for staffing and production schedules. Currently they do not because of speed restrictions.

Up to $170 million could be spent on the route but the figure to catch up on deferred maintenance is between $20 million and $70 million. About $8 million needs to spent on one bridge.

Solid Energy had had "good discussions" with Toll but did not know what its plans were, said chief Don Elder.

A draft study of the South Island coal route commissioned by the Land Transport Safety Authority is circulating. Those who have seen it say it is not totally scathing, while others said the issue was not just the current state of the line but its ability to handle more volume.

The Government is to spend $200 million over five years on the rail network after it buys it back. The handover is due on July 1. The maintrunk line needs work to remove speed restrictions.

Toll has promised to spend $100 million on rolling stock. The company has said it is considering investing in shipping capacity on the Cook Strait. It has not said anything about the road transport business beyond that it looked exciting.