Second Milford tunnel plan unveiled

A new company has entered the race to become the first to build a Routeburn-Hollyford tunnel to cut travel time from Queenstown to Milford.

MSLR Ltd has lodged a concession application with the Department of Conservation.

It is the second company to apply to DOC for a concession to build a tunnel in the area.

DOC's acting community relations manager for Southland conservancy Dave Taylor announced the news to the Southland Conservation Board at its meeting in Invercargill yesterday.

"We've just received the application but it does not have all the information we require. We've sent it back and asked if they can give us more information," Mr Taylor said.

MSLR Ltd director Greg Harris said his company had applied to DOC for a concession to use some crown land to build a single-lane 13.5km rail tunnel from Routeburn to Hollyford.

"The proposal is to go in at the Routeburn station just past the Dart (River) bridge and come out into the Hollyford Valley," he said.

The tunnel's Routeburn portal would be on private land while the Hollyford portal was on Crown land.

There was road access to both sites.

He said DOC had requested the company include final detail of facilities at either portal, such as toilets.

Construction would take two years, however, given the time these types of applications took to process, it was unlikely to open before 2015, he said.

The proposal was for a roll-on, roll-off, rail-based line. It would be able to carry all types of vehicles, providing more market share, Mr Harris said.

It was based on a Swiss model, which the company had studied, but would be new to New Zealand.

Mr Harris declined to say how much the tunnel was expected to cost or how much fares would be.

In December last year the New Zealand Conservation Authority declined to approve an amendment to the Mount Aspiring National Park Management Plan to allow construction of a new road and tunnel in the Mount Aspiring National Park.

It meant the Milford Dart Company could not proceed with plans to build a $150 million 10.2km underground bus tunnel from part of the Routeburn Rd to the Hollyford Valley because its activities are not consistent with the Aspiring Management Plan.

Milford Dart director Tom Elworthy said at the time that all was not lost and the company would table other options.

He confirmed last night that the company was still looking at options.

"We are still very much alive and kicking," Mr Elworthy said.

Both companies have been in contact with each other but declined to reveal the extent of any discussions.

Mr Harris said unlike the Milford Dart's proposal to build 1.5km of road to access the tunnel's portals, his company's concept did not require building new roads to access the portals because both had existing road access.

The portal at the Hollyford end come under the Fiordland National Park's Management Plan and the Routeburn portal was on private land.

- © Fairfax NZ News