Future of Napier-Wairoa train line still uncertain two years on from Cyclone Gabrielle

Part of the Napier-Wairoa train line in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. It has since been made safe but the line remains closed. Photo / Ian Cooper

The future of the Napier-Wairoa train line remains uncertain, with a decision yet to be made on whether to reinstate or officially mothball the track.

The 115km train line was badly damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. It has been out of action since.

The track carried about one logging train a day when it was open.

A KiwiRail spokesman said “no decision has been made” about its future at this stage.

“Works to stop further deterioration of the line and potential impacts on neighbouring properties are largely complete,” he said.

“KiwiRail has been working on a scoping study to understand the cost of line reinstatement ... or alternatively mothballing [it].

“We expect to have discussions with the Government around the line by the middle of this year.”

Mothballing a train line means officially closing it but keeping it in relatively good condition, so that it can been reinstated in future if required and funding is made available.

Advocates have highlighted the benefits of reinstating the train line, which includes taking trucks off the troubled SH2 Napier-Wairoa Rd and reducing maintenance costs for that highway.

However, the likes of major timber and pulp mill Pan Pac, one of Hawke’s Bay’s biggest employers, did not use the Napier to Wairoa train line to transport its logs when it was open.

History of the line

The train line used to run all the way from Napier to Gisborne but a storm closed that line in 2012.

Later that year, the line was officially mothballed.

In 2019, the Napier-Wairoa section (about half of the line) was reinstated following a $6.2 million investment.

Services were suspended just a week after they began due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before log trains resumed in November 2020.

Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 then struck and damaged more than 400 sites on the 115km track.

Meanwhile, the current rail network in Hawke’s Bay features a railway line which starts at Woodville (near Palmerston North) – where it connects with other tracks – and heads north to Napier Port.

The line then extends further north to Wairoa but that section is out of action.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.