The number of log train services between Wairoa and Napier is set to go from two to five next week. Photo / NZME
The number of log train services between Wairoa and Napier is set to go from two to five next week. Photo / NZME
The number of log trains travelling along the Wairoa-Napier rail line is set to double with a new weekday service set to start next week.
KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer Todd Moyle announced that trains will run from a log hub in Wairoa to the Port of Napier every weekday fromMonday next week.
Each weekday service will consist of around 23 wagons - reducing the need for more than 10,000 truck movements each year.
The increased rail service will help reduce congestion and road maintenance costs, as well as improve road safety between Wairoa and Napier, he said.
"Our log trains have become a vital link in the region's forestry supply chain, helping reduce the number of heavy log trucks on regional roads that were never designed for them.
"Given trains have 70 per cent fewer carbon emissions per tonne carried compared with road, we are also doing more to reduce transport emissions."
Moyle said harvest volumes across Hawke's Bay were predicted to exceed 4 million tonnes per annum over the next five years, meaning there was "clear demand" for rail.
"With harvests now beginning in more forests around Wairoa, our log trains are really coming into their own."
The increased train services, consisting of 23 wagons, will help reduce emissions and the number of logging trucks on the road between Napier and Wairoa. Photo / NZME
The increased number of services was a reminder for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and farmers to be more cautious around the rail line between Wairoa and Napier's port.
"Going from running trains two days a week to at least five means that the line will be busier," Moyle said.
"People travelling in the area need to take special care around level crossings, and anyone crossing the tracks should approach them as if a train may be coming – at any time and from either direction.
"People should always look both ways for trains when approaching a level crossing. Trains always have right of way."
It is illegal to walk along or across railway tracks - the only safe place for pedestrians to cross tracks is at a level crossing.
KiwiRail will be running an advertising campaign in the Napier-Wairoa area to raise train-safety awareness.
Trains are scheduled to travel from Napier to Wairoa every weekday morning, returning to Napier around midday, but timetables can change without notice.
The Government invested $6.2 million to reopen the weather-damaged Napier to Wairoa rail line, with log trains running at weekends since late 2019.
Log trains services were halted last year due to Covid-19 but resumed running on the line in November, running every Saturday and Sunday with two return services each week
