Rail line a potential road option: Nimon

The Waikare Gorge bridge on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier was destroyed by floodwaters during Cyclone Gabrielle. With the Napier to Wairoa rail line also suffering significant damage and its future up in the air, Napier MP Katie Nimon is keen to see the rail line investigated as a major road and alternative to SH2.Hawke’s Bay Today picture

by Gary Hamilton-Irvine, Hawke’s Bay Today

Napier MP Katie Nimon says the damaged Napier to Wairoa railway line should be considered as a new road to replace State Highway 2.

A question mark continues to hang over the future of that railway which has been closed indefinitely since Cyclone Gabrielle.

The February cyclone caused damage to more than 400 sites on that 115-kilometre train line.

It carried about one logging train a day while it was open.

KiwiRail says a decision will be made by the new Cabinet on whether to fund its reinstatement.

KiwiRail will provide initial advice to the Government early next year to help with those decisions including any potential business case.

Large portions of the track run along a different corridor to the State Highway 2 Napier to Wairoa road, which was also badly damaged in the cyclone.

Nimon said if it was “the most appropriate corridor” she would be advocating ”on behalf of the constituents” for the rail line to be investigated as a new major road as an alternative to the state highway.

Nimon, who is new to Parliament and was previously the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council transport manager, said SH2 needed to be made more resilient, particularly between Tangoio and Tutira, which includes the troubled Devil’s Elbow.

“I feel very strongly that a resilient road is a priority for this region.

“I will be advocating for us to consider that as a roading corridor before we decide to reinstate it for rail.”

She added it could potentially support road and rail but a new road was her priority.

The corridor had been flagged as a roading option previously in regional transport plans, she said.

KiwiRail programme director Daniel Headifen said there were more than 400 damaged sites along the railway including washouts.

“Until funding is confirmed, we will only deliver safety-critical work.”

That work includes making sure areas are safe next to roads.

Shortly afer the cyclone, Mr Headifen told Hawke’s Bay Today the damage to the line “looks a lot worse than it is” and he believed it was “definitely rebuildable”.

The Napier to Wairoa line was closed from 2012 to 2019 but was reopened in 2019 following a $6.2 million investment.

The line is part of the wider Hawke’s Bay rail network.

That network sees a train line run north from Woodville near Palmerston North (where it connects with other tracks) to Napier Port then all the way to Wairoa.

The track is back up and operating between Woodville and Napier Port.

Napier timber and pulp mill Pan Pac, which is a big employer in Hawke’s Bay, does not use the Napier to Wairoa train line to transport its logs.