Moral bankruptcy

The challenge of dealing with climate change is to find ways of doing things that are less harmful to the long-term survival of the planet’s life – human and nonhuman – than what we do now.

Most of those changes are likely to cost more.

But KiwiRail seems not to get it. It is grossly cynical to refuse to do the right thing because it might cost a bit more in the short term. I mean the non-replacement of electric locomotives on the central sector of the North Island Main Trunk.

The other major issue, also signifying KiwiRail’s moral bankruptcy, is the evident intention to abandon any rail link between North and South islands. KiwiRail has signalled it will not replace its one remaining rail ferry.. Why bother to restore the Kaikoura line if through trains will no longer be possible? The result will again be more big-rigs on the roads, more diesel burned.

We have a rail operator that grasps every opportunity to put itself out of business: mothballing lines, quitting almost all intercity passenger services, closing all but the very biggest freight-handling stations; all these reduce the total quantity of business; that is taken over by road transport and the thundering armadas of trucks and trailers. ROBIN TAYLOR Tawa [abridged]