Times are changing for Rail

KiwiRail, the Government owned rail operator responsible for the Napier to Gisborne rail line announced May 18th 2011 "That Minor Lines in the NZ Rail Network would be reviewed". This includes the Napier Gisborne line. Kiwi Rail is struggling to make any money on this line, it has been that way for decades.Unless Anchor customers emerge to use the line for freight the line will either be closed or mothball by 2012

This announcement has been on the cards since the National Government took office in 2008.

What does this mean for a potential rail trail? An optimist would say it's looking more likely that a rail trail will prove a very sound option for a closed rail line.

Kiwi Rail's threatened closure press release this week has shocked those whom always believed the Napier- Gisborne line was sacrosanct.

The line will be closed to freight train traffic and be reborn as a walking and cycling rail trail, creating a sound economic return to the East Coast communities it runs through. Well, we certainly hope so.