Train loses its steam

By TONY GEE

KAWAKAWA - The Bay of Islands vintage steam train service between Kawakawa and Opua has been ordered to stop running, throwing the Festival of Transport into chaos.

The Land Transport Safety Authority says it has concerns over safety aspects after a recent collision between motorised trolleys and delays in safety upgrades.

The sudden halt to the popular tourist attraction's operations came just two days before the opening of the Kawakawa festival tomorrow.

Johnson Davis, a director of the operator, the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Company, said he was bitterly disappointed.

"It's a disaster for the town. It has been an integral part of Kawakawa and its main street for years."

A festival feature was to have been steam train trips to and from Opua.

An LTSA spokesman in Wellington, Craig Dowling, said management of the rail operation had changed several times in the past six months and the company at present did not hold a rail service licence.

The authority had tried to make progress on a new licence but timetables for upgrading and repairs had not been met. It would reconsider its decision if the company addressed LTSA concerns.