private consortium to buy the Napier to Gisborne railway proposed

It seems that the suggestion for a private enterprise shortline in our earlier post on this subject has been taken up for serious discussion by Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce CEO Murray Douglas.

According to the Gisborne Herald website:


Mr Douglas, who was head of Dunedin City Holdings which had a half-share in the Taieri Gorge Railway, said the numbers to keep the Napier-Gisborne line open worked well, The Hawke’s Bay Today reported.

“We know we have an extraordinarily efficient port in Napier and we know we have huge production coming out of the hills. So if KiwiRail won’t do it, then why don’t we buy it? It requires courage, it requires vision, it requires focus but we can do it.

“Fixing the slips is the easy part of the decision. The hard part is the capital requirements of the total line for the next 10 years — given that some of the sleepers are a bit old and some of the bridges might need strengthening.

“It is inconceivable to have a massively productive part of New Zealand, as it is in the Hawke’s Bay, without rail. To not have that option is short-sighted.”