Business case for ‘crucial’ Marsden Pt rail link being considered by Government

A decision on building a long-awaited rail link to Northport at Marsden Pt is a step closer, with the Government considering a comprehensive business case for the link

The Government is moving closer to a decision on whether to build a $200 million-plus rail link to Northport at Marsden Pt as it considers a business case for the long-talked-about spur to the deepwater port.

KiwiRail has finalised the business case for the spur to the port and has sent it to the Government for consideration. And an update from the Government on the business case, and where to from here, could be only weeks away.

A KiwiRail spokesman said it had submitted the Marsden Point Rail Line (MPRL) business case to the Ministry of Transport and the Treasury — which are responsible to the Minister of Transport and Minister of Finance — for the Government’s consideration.

‘’We expect the Government will make an announcement in due course,’’ the spokesman said.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Transport said the Government was considering the business case and would provide an update in due course.

This is expected to be in a matter of weeks.

A decision to progress the rail link can’t come soon enough for regional development agency Northland Inc, which says it is crucial in building the resilience of Northland’s transportation infrastructure.

“The Marsden Point Rail Link ... will contribute to ensuring we have a balance of roading and rail networks which will help the region remain connected to the rest of New Zealand, and is particularly important for logistics and supply chains in the North. The recent weather events and the subsequent impacts on the regional roading only highlights the importance of developing alternative transportation infrastructure for Northland,’’ Northland Inc chief executive Paul Linton said.

“Northport is one of the few ports in New Zealand which is not currently rail connected. The Economic Impacts of Northport Expansion on Te Tai Tokerau/Northland, which Northland Inc commissioned, highlights the potential positive economic benefits which the Northport Vision for Growth could have on the region — from strong job creation to providing facilities to increase exports, and service vessels from outside of the region. Getting the Marsden Point Rail Link underway is crucial to Northland’s logistics and supply chains and will create positive ripple effects across our communities while also benefiting the regional economy. We eagerly await the Government signing off on this critical project so that the work might start.”

Northland Inc chief executive Paul Linton says getting a rail link to Marsden Pt is crucial for Northland’s economic development.

The need for the 19km rail spur to Marsden Pt has been talked about since the 1970s, but the need intensified after Northport was built there in 2002.

Several prices for a rail link to Marsden Pt have been released over the years, but no details on expected costs have been released recently.

However, at last April’s Northland Regional Transport Committee (RTC) meeting, Steve Mutton, Waka Kotahi director regional relationships upper North Island, said the Government would spend $450m to $550m on rail in Northland, including creating the new Port Marsden-to-Whangārei rail link.

Mutton would not be drawn at the time on exactly how much of that would be spent on the rail link, as the funding was also for upgrades to the Whangārei to Otiria rail line.

In 2017, the Government estimated the rail link could cost up to $200m. In 2020, the Government announced $40 million to purchase land along the corridor.

The proposed route of the Marsden Pt rail spur.

The interim report of the feasibility study investigating moving the Port of Auckland to Northport was published in April 2019. The interim report noted further investment in Northport was not feasible without investment in the construction of the Marsden Point Branch and upgrades to the North Auckland Line.

A business case for the upgrade of the North Auckland Line and the Marsden Point Branch’s construction was prepared by the Ministry of Transport and published in May 2019. The business case found the total cost of the upgrade and Marsden Point line would be $1.3 billion. The estimated cost of the line was $300m.

In June 2021, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Finance Minister Grant Robertson said it was needed as a “strategic investment in Northland’s future prosperity”.

Auckland Mayor and former Far North mayor Wayne Brown has long campaigned to move Port of Auckland to Northport, allowing the inner-Auckland port to close and freeing up hectares of valuable, waterfront land. A rail link would make that port shift easier, allowing goods to be landed at Marsden Pt then rail freighted elsewhere in the country.

■ The Marsden Point Branch is a 19 km branch line railway that will diverge from the North Auckland Line at Oakleigh south of Whangārei, and serve Northport at Marsden Point. The proposal has existed since the 1970s and land for the rail corridor has been designated and is being actively purchased.