Far North rail upgrade delayed until Marsden Pt link sorted

A KiwiRail train after unloading logs in Portland following its last run between Whangārei and Otiria on August 31, 2016, when the line was mothballed.

The rail line between Whangārei and Otiria in the Far North won’t be upgraded and reopened until it can be aligned with the yet-to-be finalised Marsden Point rail link.

KiwiRail said the project to reopen the rail line north of Whangārei will remain on hold while design work on a new rail link to Marsden Point is carried out so the two projects can be aligned.

The news comes days after KiwiRail announced that freight trains are due to start running again in Northland next month, for the first time since the destruction unleashed by last year’s storms.

The Anniversary Weekend deluge and Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 damaged the 185km railway line from Swanson, in West Auckland, to Whangārei in more than 200 places. The damage included overslips, slumps, washouts and underslips, with 35 sites requiring major engineering work.

Initial hopes of reopening the line in mid-2023 were soon dashed, as were plans to get trains moving again early this year.

Northland rail upgrade programme director Eric Hennephof said the Northland line was now expected to reopen to freight trains in late July, as long as testing uncovered no major problems with the rebuilt track.

The line north of Whangārei to Otiria was mothballed in 2016, but KiwiRail plans to upgrade and reopen the line, with thousands of concrete sleepers laid alongside the line, ready to be put in.

KiwiRail chief planning and asset development officer David Gordon said the government-funded project was initially paused as KiwiRail engaged with hapū along the route. Then in early 2023 KiwiRail resources had to be redirected to the massive job of reopening the rail line south of Whangārei, which was badly damaged in extreme weather events.

“It now makes sense to align our plan to reopen the currently mothballed line between Kauri (just north of Whangārei) and Otiria with plans for the Marsden Point Rail Link. The link would mean forestry and other export goods the Far North produces would have direct access to Northport, without having to go all the way to Auckland or Tauranga’s ports. The alternative of rail-freighting from Otiria to Whangārei and then road-freighting to Northport is less efficient – combining the two means rail could offer an Otiria to port service,” Gordon said.

“We are currently working on the detailed design of the 19km spur line to Marsden Point, including work to reduce its initial estimated cost of close to $1 billion. The Kauri-Otiria rail upgrade will be wrapped into that wider project. We expect to provide information to the Government by mid-2025, so it can consider funding to build the Marsden Point Rail Link.

“We have purchased a lot of materials for the rail upgrade to Otiria, such as locally made concrete sleepers and imported rail, and they will remain in place around that part of Northland for use later. In the meantime, we will shortly be making interim fencing and safety improvements at our Otiria rail yard, after feedback from the community.”

Since 2019, $173 million has been invested by the government to upgrade the operating rail line between Swanson and Whangārei to take larger, heavier freight trains. This work was completed and heavy trains started running just before the January 2023 weather event hit.

A further $90 million was allocated for Whangārei to Otiria and build a container terminal at KiwiRail’s existing Otiria rail yard. KiwiRail has completed some of this work, including upgrading the line to Kauri to take heavier trains, track and container terminal upgrades at its Whangārei yard to support increased train capacity.