$10 million rail plan ‘not crazy, but is expensive’
A New Plymouth mayoral candidate’s $10 million rail plan is feasible, but a railway owner believes the budget is pie in the sky and would all be spent in the first week.
Murray Chong announced his mayoral campaign with a plan to link New Plymouth, Waitara and Inglewood by rail and said the $10m would be used to purchase and modernise rail carriages, and to install new platforms along the route.
But Derek Baker, the secretary of the Waitara Railway Preservation Society, which owns the line between Waitara and Lepperton, said the costs would be much more.
Though he couldn’t provide a realistic figure, Baker said the cost of maintenance, running the service and upgrading the existing old rail to make it safe would see $10m gone in one week.
‘‘The option is feasible. At what cost though?
‘‘I am under the impression that he [Chong] thinks that you just buy a train and put it on the railway and away you go, but it’s not like a road – it’s not a state highway.’’
Fellow councillor Harry Duynhoven, who pitched for the reopening of the railway five years ago, agreed the exercise would be costly. He was also surprised to see Chong campaigning on it, given he voted against Duynhoven’s idea at the time.
‘‘It’s an idea that has some merit. It’s not crazy, but is expensive,’’ Duynhoven said.
‘‘You have a big cost of the restoration of the coaches. You have a big cost of the leasing of the line for the time slots you need – that’s not to say it shouldn’t be looked at and I proposed it.’’
When spoken to, Chong said the discussion around the rail link needed to be had but he had not done any deep research so far, nor started any business study.
‘‘I can’t professionally look at the idea myself, but the game has changed now that there’s appetite to get more vehicles off the road and for passenger rail to come back onto our current system.
‘‘We need to have a look at how we can find alternative transport for cars,’’ Chong said.
Costs aside, getting the proposed railway up and running could be done.
Tracey Goodall, the general manager of commuter rail for KiwiRail, which owns the line between New Plymouth and Inglewood, said the organisation could assist local and regional councils in considering the investments required to stand up a new service and fund its operation.
‘‘For example, while KiwiRail operates Capital Connection and Te Huia, our clients are the regional councils who are funded by Waka Kotahi – just like any other public transport service.’’
But new railways were ‘‘ultimately a decision for local and regional councils’’ to take.
However, the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) has never considered the option of reopening the rail, council director of corporate services Mike Nield said.
The high capital setup cost could make the proposal unviable and there would need to be a strong business case presented before the council would consider it.
Before the New Plymouth District Council even considered a rail route it should make cars less attractive, Nield said.
‘‘Any new public transport initiatives such as rail require a critical mass of users that would support the service to make it viable,’’ Nield said.
Taranaki Daily News mayoral candidate debate. Friday, September 23, New Plymouth District Council Chambers. Doors open 10am, debate starts 10.30am.