Government should pay for rail track, says academic

If the Government wants a decent rail network it will have to pay for it, Lincoln University's Professor Chris Kissling said.

The rail network should be brought up to an adequate level that allowed operators to be competitive with road, but more operators should be allowed access to it, Prof Kissling said in an interview on National Radio.

Toll NZ should pay for maintenance of the rail network but not the upgrading.

"The Government owns the track. If we want a decent rail system then we need to have a decent track," Mr Kissling said.

The network was currently incomplete and inadequate.

"If we want it we will have to pay for it."

National Radio has been reporting that the Government intends to double the funding of the rail network to $400 million in a deal it is still negotiating with rail operator Toll NZ.

Prof Kissling said the track should be open to more than one operator and that different types of freight could attract different types of operators.

Toll NZ and the Government have been in dispute about the access fees Toll pays. Under an agreement when the Government bought the track back Toll has to pay fees that cover all the costs relating to the track once the initial $200 million is spent to upgrade it.

Toll is planning to surcharge its customers to cover increasing access fees and customers are up in arms at the charges.

The Napier to Gisborne line is under threat of closure because its single largest customer is indicating it will shift freight to road if charges on rail rise, according to union officials.

NZPA understand that access charges rise as high as $100 million a year in the future under some scenarios run under the original rail access agreement.

Toll NZ, which is controlled by Australia's Toll Holdings, bought rail operator Tranz Rail in 2003 and the following year sold most of the track network to the Government.

- NZPA