What assessment, if any, has been made of the impact on regional economies where rail maintenance work is reduced or withdrawn, including Southland, the West Coast, and lower North Island corridors?

Answer

Investment continues to flow to assets based on condition and service demand, all of which are present in Southland, the West Coast and the lower North Island corridors. Much of the Ohai Line has been mothballed as the cost to reinstate the line after a storm in September 2022 caused services to halt - for which the then Minister of Transport was briefed. KiwiRail found it was more economical to road-bridge coal from Nightcaps to Invercargill and then rail freight it approximately 400 kilometres north to Fonterra, than to spend millions rebuilding the damaged bridge. This has proven to be sensible given the coal mine is scheduled to close. We do not support rail to nowhere. If a new customer seeks to open on the line, this can be revisited.