Can’t be rebuilt cheaply

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Re: Highway repairs vs rail, February 27 letter.

Hello Niall.

On behalf of your National Rail Advocacy Collective you also had letters to the editor on December 13, 2023, “Rail benefits outweigh costs”, and December 21, “Costs that deliver value”.

I asked a few questions in a letter on January 3, 2024 — How much is a ‘relatively cheap’ railway rebuild? — but you didn’t bother to reply.

On January 6, 2024 you managed to get an article: Questions about rail link.

On January 9 I replied with a letter headlined “Check out the damage”. Again, no reply from you.

On February 10 Ray Hill had a letter, “Rail needs new ideas — and a new operator”. He gave me a mention and said that like you, Niall, he hasn’t walked the line.

You both haven’t got a clue that the link is totally stuffed. It’s impossible to rebuild cheaply, as we have been told by you.

Now in this latest letter you come up with a current budget to fix the road between Napier and Gisborne of between $1 billion and $1.8bn.

Since you have this information, please tell us how much is the “cheap” rebuild of the Gisborne to Napier link?

Could that be $1bn or more?

Like I have said before, I see all these rail action groups who get consultants, engineers and experts in and it all has to be paid for — funds down the drain.

Go back to the 2019 BERL report — $36 million and 18 months to complete. If they could do it, go ahead for that price.

So, Niall, if you can get a cheap job and rebuild the Gisborne to Napier link that will last 10 years, do it.

Maybe join up with the other rail advocates and put it to KiwiRail and the Government.

It will be nice if you answer this email so everyone can support you.

Merv Goodley