Diesel move in NZ’s best interests
The inaccuracies and misleading arguments in your editorial (KiwiRail plan shortsighted, January 17) require a response as the public may be left believing that KiwiRail has not fully considered the environmental implications of its plan to improve performance on the North Island Main Trunk Line.
This could not be further from the truth. The decision was made by KiwiRail as it is in New Zealand’s best interests, giving customers more of an incentive to shift their freight on to rail which is a more sustainable option for the country.
Your writer’s assertion that replacing ageing and inefficient electric locomotives which break down regularly with the latest fuel efficient diesel locomotives will ‘‘substantially push up KiwiRail’s carbon emissions’’ is blatantly untrue. Rail is less than 1 per cent of transport emissions in New Zealand, and transport is just 17 per cent of total emissions in New Zealand.
Even with the decision to standardise our fleet we will still be little more than 1 per cent of the 17 per cent. And for every tonne of freight that is moved by rail instead of road, there is a 66 per cent saving in emissions for New Zealand.
That is the real prize in this decision and was part of the ‘‘balanced view of the national interest’’ that you wrongly claim KiwiRail has not considered. The more reliable and efficient our services are, the more freight that will be moved on to rail, as our customers have publicly said. That 66 per cent saving in emissions on rail is good for them too.
Far from being a decision based on a ‘‘short-term financial payoff’’ as you incorrectly state, KiwiRail has opted to retain the electric infrastructure for future use if required, at a cost to the organisation.
Your numbers around the cost of electrifying the whole network are also incorrect. $1 billion would electrify only the main trunk line. To electrify the entire North Island – as would be required – including the Tauranga to Auckland route, regional feeder lines and the purchase of circa 60 additional electric trains, would cost more than $4 billion.
This decision was not made lightly, nor quickly. KiwiRail and external experts spent two years investigating all of the options and what was best for our organisation.
New Zealanders can be assured that this decision is ultimately what is best for our country too.
Peter Reidy is chief executive officer at KiwiRail.