Napier-Wairoa rail line: Is it worth rebuilding after Cyclone Gabrielle damage?

The future of the Napier to Wairoa railway line, wrecked by Cyclone Gabrielle, is in jeopardy. Photo / Warren Buckland

KiwiRail will apply for funding next year from the Government to repair the Napier to Wairoa rail line after Cyclone Gabrielle tore through it in February. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has all but ruled out investing in the rail line and Katie Nimon, MP for Napier, has suggested the rail corridor should be considered for a new road to replace State Highway 2. Despite advocates highlighting the potential environmental benefits of the rail line, its lack of commercial viability could jeopardise the future of the railway in Hawke’s Bay. James Pocock reports.

The Napier-Wairoa rail line appeared to be a viable alternative to mitigate some of the wear and tear on State Highway 2, plagued by closures from slips amid rough weather, but now its future is in question.

Advocates argue reduced emissions, road use and maintenance costs are reasons to repair the rail after it was wrecked by the cyclone.

But even before the cyclone closed the line, the rail volume of logs from Wairoa to Napier Port had largely stopped because of the commercial cost of using rail for cargo owners and Napier 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.

The current situation

The Napier to Wairoa line was closed from 2012 until 2019 but reopened in January 2020 following a $6.2 million investment from the Provincial Growth Fund.

Services were suspended just a week after they began, because of Covid-19′s impact on the forestry industry, before log trains resumed in November 2020.

According to earlier statements by KiwiRail, Cyclone Gabrielle caused damage to more than 400 sites on the 115km track, including washouts.

Robert Gibbes, KiwiRail executive general manager of construction, said KiwiRail was focused on carrying out “Make Safe” work to stop the line from deteriorating further and expected to provide initial advice to the Government next year about the costs of repairing and reopening the line.

“There is an existing process to go through to apply for funding, which includes a business case. This is similar to the process Trec [Transport Rebuild East Coast] has to go through to fund road and other infrastructure work,” Gibbes said.

“It is inappropriate to talk about costs or timeframes until we have had discussions with the Government.”

The line is part of the wider Hawke’s Bay rail network, which encompasses a train line north from Woodville near Palmerston North (where it connects with other tracks) to Napier Port and then to Wairoa.

The line carried about one logging train a day between Napier and Wairoa while it was open.

Gibbes said the line on average carried about 1500 tonnes of logs a week in 2022 and was approved for freight trains.

The benefits of restoring rail

The KiwiRail website highlights the “widespread benefits” that the rail line brought, including more jobs, efficiencies leading to quicker turnarounds for logging companies, less wear and tear for the road and reduced carbon emissions.

Every train used to move logs on the rail line was the equivalent of 50 long-distance truck hauls on the road between Napier and Wairoa and every tonne of freight carried by rail was a 66 per cent emissions saving over heavy road freight, according to KiwiRail.

The Rail Advocacy Collective (Trac) challenged Luxon’s comments in a statement this week, claiming they indicated he had “little idea about the needs of rail customers, regional development and how to fight climate change”.

National coordinator Niall Robertson said National-led Governments had a history of prioritising road transport over rail.

“Although the damage in the Esk Valley looks disastrous and spectacular, the actual cost to rebuild that line will be relatively cheap. Even the line all the way to Gisborne would be relatively cheap when all of the social, health and transport advantages are factored into the rebuild,” Robertson said in a statement.

“NZTA would be saving millions each year on road maintenance costs too.”

The Trac statement said the group had no issues with making State Highway 2 more resilient, but it should not be at the expense of rail.

Bridge to nowhere; the Napier Wairoa railway line in the Esk Valley that was wrecked by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Warren Buckland

Declining use and a question of costs

Adam Harvey, Napier Port’s chief operating officer, had a more modest estimate of the number of trucks that were taken off the road by the rail line.

“Pre-Cyclone Gabrielle we could expect to receive one log train (20 wagons) per day from Wairoa at Napier Port, which equates to approximately 20 to 25 trucks per day,” Harvey said in a statement.

“In reality, this service was very intermittent due to the competitive nature of log transport (the only commodity on the line) between road and rail, and prior to the cyclone the rail volume of logs from Wairoa had largely stopped due to cost to cargo owners.”

He said since road infrastructure repairs were completed through to Wairoa earlier in the year the majority of the port’s previous log volume was coming via truck transport.

“We support the re-opening of the line if it provides a commercially viable alternative to cargo owners, recognising that there are other factors from using rail that can benefit the community including fewer vehicles on roads and potential emissions reductions,” he said.

“Ultimately, it is the cargo owners transporting their products to and from the port that determine the mode of transport they use.

“Pricing, including KiwiRail charges, and distance to port are key considerations in terms of whether rail is competitive compared to road transport.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz