Full steam ahead for $9m rail interchange

Work is finally starting on a $9 million railhead aimed at taking more shipping containers off Auckland's congested roads.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce jumped on a digging machine yesterday to turn the first sod in a joint project between KiwiRail and Ports of Auckland, beside the main trunk railway at Wiri.

The Government is contributing $6 million to the project, an addition to an "inland port" which the port company has spent more than $20 million developing off Wiri Station Rd.

Although the company bought a 10ha site several years ago for stockpiling containers carried 25km to or from its waterfront terminal by trucks, it has taken concerted lobbying to gain Government funding for a road-rail interchange using 5ha of KiwiRail's land.

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark announced funding approval in November, just two days before her Administration's election defeat.

But it has taken until now to gain resource consents and to let a contract due to be completed by November for construction of a 450m-long hardstand and three rail sidings, each capable of receiving 22 wagons.

Once a night-rail shuttle service gathers a full head of steam, the new venture is expected to eliminate up to 100,000 truck trips annually from Auckland roads.

Despite his overall misgivings about Labour's $690 million purchase of KiwiRail, an investment which he is concerned is now valued at just $388 million, Mr Joyce endorsed the Government involvement in the Wiri venture as a way of improving the efficiency of the transport network.

He said New Zealand's remoteness from international markets meant its transport costs were up to 25 per cent higher than those of competing nations, so improving the sector's efficiency was vital to the recovery from the global recession.

Port company managing director Jens Madsen said the rail link would improve Wiri as a freight hub attractive to new import and export businesses with the accompanying jobs.