Railway lines near Westshore, Napier - part of the mothballed Napier-Gisborne railway line.
On 28th November without any community taxpayer consultation a secret rail tender process was entered on the KiwiRail Government electronic website GETS.
Expressions of interest were taken for tourism operators interested in running services on the Wairoa to Gisborne section of the Napier-Gisborne rail line.
Hawke's Bay Today on 9th December reported that an EOI request 18 months ago for the full line between the two cities attracted a lot of interest.
However the full line is no longer available, due to the Napier Port agreement and another secretive deal with Gisborne City Vintage Railway earlier made by KiwiRail, and these agreement appear that the contract could be terminated with three months' notice or immediately, if excessive or unexpected track maintenance, or reinstatement costs made continuing uneconomic, reports HB Today.
We at CEAC on 29th November sent KiwiRail a note as an "Expression of Interest" for a mixed freight/passenger servicefor use of the Wairoa-Gisborne rail section to consider under a new co-operative plan with local Iwi and other interested parties.
On 3rd December KiwiRail requested we submit an EOI along with the co-operative, and will as requested.
Then we were advised that discussions took place between Government and the Minister of Transport Simon Bridges, who said there are apparently two stages of tenders whereas there will be a tender for tourism and another later for freight.
So we asked KiwiRail for clarity on 13th December asking when the next round of EOI was to be staged for freight services or passenger services, and KiwiRail abruptly declined to clarify these questions for our tender, so we are now left with an extremely confusing situation amongst our Gisborne HB communities.
It now appears that KiwiRail were only looking for innovative tourism ventures to help grow their income and retain minimal critical track infrastructure without requiring any capital expenditure or maintenance.
Hawke's Bay Regional Councillor Alan Dick was reported by HB Today December 9th as saying "that this raised concerns, as it had been anticipated "from the outset" that logs would need to be hauled from as far north as Nuhaka within a few years."
CEAC, representing the health and safety of the community, are shocked that KiwiRail would allow a 12 per cent annual increase in truck road freight causing a public health risk to all communities living alongside any truck corridor, including the 12,000 residents in Napier who are reportedly now facing sleepless nights and health issues as a result of 24/7 truck gridlock - gridlock that will only get worse without rail to take some of the freight off the roads.
This quick release of KiwiRail's secret plan to dispose of the HB/Gisborne community's right to freight/passenger rail services by holding a stealth tender for cycle/golf cart lease completely conflicts with the SOE Act and some may consider a legal ruling on KiwiRail's lack of regard for our community health & safety, and lack of their "social responsibility towards our community whereever possible" that KiwiRail must consider under the SOE Act.
•Kiwirail are forcing rail freight on to roads costing lives, increased oil use, and higher CO2 levels and tyre pollution causing cancer.
•Global experts confirm traffic pollution to be among the worst public health issues facing urban communities.
•KiwiRail are required, under the SOE Act, to exhibit a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates and by endeavouring to accommodate or encourage these when able to do so.
•A Rail bikes/carts proposal will harm our urban communities as a result of poisoned air.
If KiwiRail will not restore rail services for our community as promised when they asked for access across Iwi tribal land then we say give it back.
Ken Crispin is the director for CER Environmental Monitoring Ltd and Secretary,
East Coast Transportation Project Manager. Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre