Uneasy sense of rail line closure

News of the probable axing of the Stratford to Okahukura rail line has been met with indignation and resignation by the people of East Taranaki.

On Monday, the Taranaki Daily News reported the temporarily closed line was likely to be shut for good after it was revealed the cost of keeping it open was millions more than initially thought.

Road worker Mervyn Adams has spent half his life maintaining the roads of the area, including the Forgotten Highway – SH43 – and believes it would be a mistake to close the rail line.

Not only would it reduce the country's infrastructure assets but it had the potential to increase the wear and tear on the area's roads.

When the main trunk line and SH1 were closed, road and rail traffic was diverted through the East Taranaki roads, he said. With no rail alternative more freight would be trucked through the area on SH43.

"These back roads aren't meant to take the weight of heavy trucks. They were originally built for horse and cart. They may have been sealed but the foundations aren't there to handle the bigger trucks," he said.

Ex-coal miner and Whangamomona local Johnny Poutu said closing the line defied logic as it left the central North Island without an alternative rail route when the main trunk line was closed.

"I hope someone high up understands this. If they close it there is no other way around," he said. "And another small thing. We already miss the sound of the trains going through here."

Whangamomona farmer Pat Herlihy believed the closure of the line was inevitable because of the costs associated with keeping it open.

Like many people living along the rail line she believed turning it into a bike trail, similar to one in Otago, could be an alternative use for the line.

"But that is going to cost money as well and you will still have to maintain the bridges and the tunnels. That's why you can't have passenger trains through here now, because of the state of the tunnels," she said.

Pohokura resident Scott Sutherland said he did not believe the line would ever open again and agreed turning it into a bike trail would require a huge amount of money.

However with so many people in the area supportive of the idea there was an increased chance of it happening, he said. "I've been with Forest and Bird for years now and we have raised millions of dollars over the years and there are a lot more bikers in the country than people in Forest and Bird. I think if they really wanted to they could raise enough cash to make it happen," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News