KiwiRail to upgrade Whanganui-Castlecliff rail line with $3 million from Government's Provincial Growth Fund

The upgrade of the Whanganui-Castlecliff rail line will start later this year.

Whanganui exporters will benefit from a KiwiRail project beginning later this year.

Alan Piper, KiwiRail group general manager of sales and commercial, told the Chronicle work would start in late 2018 on the upgrade of the Whanganui-Castlecliff rail line.

Funding of $3 million for the project was announced in February by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones in the first round of Provincial Growth Fund grants.

"KiwiRail estimates that each year the project will keep 6250 trucks off the road and 563 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by enabling freight to travel by rail," Mr Jones said at the time.

Mr Piper said KiwiRail had got the Castlecliff line back up and running in partnership with Castlecliff industries, including Open Country Dairy and Ali Arc, and Wellington's CentrePort. It allowed KiwiRail to run services from the Castlecliff industrial area through to Wellington.

"The Government's funding provides a lot more resilience to that plan," Mr Piper said.

"For the next 12 to 18 months, the investment will take the rail line to another space for track quality and resilience and reliability.

"The Taranaki-Whanganui-Manawatu area is a massive export powerhouse for the country. KiwiRail is supporting regional growth we are seeing in areas like Whanganui. We're excited by it. It gets trucks off the road and is two-thirds more carbon-efficient than trucks with the volumes we are moving."

The upgrade would be good for local employment, with local network teams working on the project, Mr Piper said.

"What people will see towards the end of the year and early next year and through 2019 will be our network teams upgrading the line. What they are doing may not be obvious but they will be improving resilience."

The work would future-proof the line for growth, Mr Piper said.

"We are anticipating an increase in export and import flow so it's about having a rail line to meet that need as growth occurs. It gives us the ability to step up if the demand is there.

"The whole Taranaki-Whanganui-Manawatu region is a hugely important region for KiwiRail and the country in terms of the growth it achieves."