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Rail freight users and transport industry players have cautiously welcomed the arrival of KiwiRail - but yesterday said the scarcity of detail made informed judgment difficult.
The Government yesterday unveiled KiwiRail, the renationalised rail system, as it assumed ownership of the rail and ferry assets it bought from Toll under an agreement announced in May and worth $690 million.
It will be run by an establishment board under former Prime Minister Jim Bolger, but little more details were forthcoming.
Trucking businesses had been concerned over indications that the deal would see Toll receive a six-year rent-free use of depots, and an undisclosed discount on rail freight rates - understood to be as high as 50 per cent on some routes.
"We understand that the negotiators have addressed those issues, and I'm waiting for the details now," said Road Transport Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander. It had objected to the notion, raising the issue with the Commerce Commission and Finance Minister Michael Cullen.
"If they had dropped those ongoing subsidies, we'd be very relieved because that was a serious concern. Those subsidies would've effectively enabled the Toll trucking business to compete against New Zealand trucking businesses with an annual ongoing subsidy from the taxpayer. That raised serious competitive issues."
A Government-run rail system was not a concern, said Friedlander. "That holds no great fears for our industry. Our industry will use rail when it's the most efficient and cost-effective way of carting freight, as we will use coastal shipping when it's the preferred commercial option.
"We've no reason to believe that rail will be any greater threat in the years ahead than it has been for many years."
Dairy giant Fonterra, which each year transports a total of two megatonnes of product via rail, welcomed the announcement.
"Greater use of rail will help our efficiency initiatives and will also help to keep our environmental footprint as small as possible," said a spokeswoman.
