Is that small profit after repairs, maintenance?

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

Opinion

Re: “Business case shows rail line can be viable”, August 24 story.

Gillian Ward of the Rail Action Group says their preliminary business case shows the Gisborne-to-Napier rail line can be economical. She has no doubt the line will be viable.

The business case states that 55,000 tonnes of freight a year will make a small profit. Is this profit after KiwiRail has fixed the line, spending $20 million-plus?

I say fixing the line would take over one year at least. It took a 10-man crew with machinery over 16 weeks to replace the two gate houses.

How can a small profit from 55,000 tonnes of freight cover the ongoing repairs and maintenance?

There will be more dropouts in areas that have already been fixed, closing the line again.

I like old Winston Peters, he is a crack-up. I wonder, did he and the other parties that have pledged to reopen rail have an on-site look at the mess of the line? Yeah right.

I see Labour has pulled its head in.

Gillian, you say the railway line is still there and mostly in good condition. That is the only thing you have right.

But what about the unstable areas? Blacks Beach for over two kilometres, Waikokopu 1km falling into the sea, the 100 railway carriages full of rock and concrete deteriorating and starting to roll over into the sea. The drop-outs up the Kopuawhara Valley and beyond. The tunnels are cracking with water pouring through.

I sent a photo a few months ago of the Blacks Beach blow hole coming into Mahia, which was printed in The Gisborne Herald. At the time the road dropped 100-150 millimetres; now over 500mm is dropping into the sea some 150 metres down. Our council tried and did a very good job to retain it. A lot of money was spent.

The crack in the road is only 10m away from the rail line. Who knows, the road and line may drop into the sea tomorrow, or stay there for 20 years. The rest of the line through Kopuawhara is just like this too.

I wonder, how many paid-up members are there in the Rail Action Group?

Merv Goodley