End of the line for Stratford to Okahukura rail link

Kiwirail is poised to announce that the Stratford to Okahukura line, which has been closed since being damaged by a derailment in November last year, will not be reopened.

The Taranaki Daily News understands the costs of the repairs are now substantially more than originally thought.

Even the Taranaki Mayoral Forum, which met last week to prepare a submission on the future of the line, appears to be resigning itself to its permanent closure.

The submission, which is about to be signed by Taranaki's local government leaders plus the mayor of Ruapehu District before being sent to Transport Minister Steven Joyce, is understood to request that in the event of the line being permanently closed, the rail corridor remain in public ownership and continue with its rail route designation.

But yesterday KiwiRail denied that closure of the line was a foregone conclusion.

Regional manager central John Sargent, said the organisation was still waiting for public submissions on the issue before making any decisions.

"Certainly no decision has been made yet – and I wouldn't want to speculate on any decision that hasn't yet been made," he said.

Mr Sargent also would not confirm that at a briefing to local body leaders in Taranaki two weeks ago, KiwiRail estimated the cost of the repairs to the damaged section of line to now be as high as $2.5 million.

The Taranaki Daily News also understands that the rail owner is also now estimating the cost of urgent repairs to one of the line's tunnels to be $750,000, and that a further $7m to $10m will be required to be spent on the line over the next 36 months just to keep it up to scratch.

At the same briefing, a letter from dairy giant Fonterra was also tabled which indicated that the company doesn't need to use the line in the future, preferring instead to use the rail link to Marton. And it is also understood that Port Taranaki – another user of the line – indicated that it sees its shipping business future in attracting trade from the Wanganui, Manawatu and Wairarapa regions.