A growth graph revised to take into account factors such as reduced revenue from state-owned coal producer Solid Energy and an early end to the milk season after the summer drought disclosed a gap between earnings and required investment persisting beyond 2022.
KiwiRail lost at least $2 million from storm damage and $1.1 million from business cancellations under threat of a strike on the Cook Strait ferries in December.
Quinn described the graph as "a reasonably pragmatic view of where things are", but pointed to strong customer confidence demonstrated by an upsurge in sidings for third parties along KiwiRail's 4000km network, such as at a new Fonterra site in Canterbury and at a branch of freight-forwarding company Mainstream due to open in Auckland yesterday.
"We have just got to keep our feet on the ground and go hard, but I am really heartened by the level of customer support and great efforts by our wider team," Quinn said.
Spencer said KiwiRail spent $337 million on 20 new locomotives, 300 wagons and continuing infrastructure upgrades, but had faced hard decisions such as selling Dunedin's Hillside workshop and mothballing the Napier-Gisborne line.
After depreciation of $61.9 million, and an impairment write-down of $399.3 million of company assets, KiwiRail ended the year with a net loss of $174.6 million.
That compared with a loss of $2.3 billion in 2011-12, again mostly from an impairment write-down, but has devalued assets to just over $1 billion.
Overall freight income rose 2 per cent to $466.8 million, with growth in the forestry, import-export and domestic sectors more than making up for the milk and coal setbacks.
The Cook Strait ferries contributed $124.3 million - a 0.3 per cent increase - and infrastructure revenue largely from rail access fees from Auckland and Wellington ratepayers and taxpayer subsidies rose 12 per cent to $38.3 million.
While revenue from long-distance Tranz Scenic passenger trains fell 1 per cent to $20.1 million, as tourism remained hampered by a lack of hotel beds in earthquake-damaged Christchurch, the re-launched Northern Explorer service between Auckland and Wellington saw a 12 per cent rise in passengers.
And despite a 4.6 per cent fall in revenue from KiwiRail's Tranz Metro operation of Wellington's commuter trains, the company reported an increase in fare-box takings of 6 per cent after the rollout of the capital's third generation of electric trains.
Quinn said that augured well for the introduction of Auckland's new electric trains from April, which will be run by the council's operator Transdev (formerly Veolia), until KiwiRail joins bidding for a new contract from mid-2016.
Facing the end of his appointment in February, Quinn remained "absolutely" convinced the Labour Government did the right thing in buying back the company after years of under-investment by private owners.
"Only a government could have fixed it," he said. "There's a lot of speculative debate about whether we need a railway or not, but if you talk about people who put money into the railway every day, they can't think of anything more barking mad than New Zealand not having a railway.
