NZ | Rail + Freight

[kegan]

Rather than dragging the NZ Public Transport thread further off topic, I think it's time for a new thread. News, discussion, etc of rail related stuff that doesn't fit in the PT threads.

Here is something to start it off that I recently read in the National Freight Demands Study [pdf]. I think it provides a good overview of some of the issues. (Sorry it's rather long.)

Developments in improving the infrastructure can be grouped as follows:

• transit time reliability
• clearances
• load capacity (axle loads)
• line capacity
• extensions.

5.3.3 Transit time and reliability

A large number of the maintenance-risk issues are managed by reducing speeds (temporary speed restrictions). As a result, required work on track, sleepers and formation and structures (bridges and tunnels) may build up as limited funds are prioritised elsewhere, and overall transit time on a particular line may then increase. Increased expenditure by ONTRACK on maintenance on key lines is reducing speed restrictions and improving transit times. Further investment in formation maintenance and bridge upgrading is planned. ONTRACK has also invested in new major, railmaintenance machinery, including 40 new ballast wagons, a „dynamic track stabiliser', a ballast cleaner and a tamper, which will increase the length of line maintained in a year and speed its return to normal traffic transit times.

Much of the country's rail network runs on its original alignment. Some routes were realigned throughout the last century (eg, in the 1930s, 1950s and 1980s) but nowhere near as much as has been done on the highway network. Many lines still suffer from speed restrictions on tight curves and steep grades. Improvements to many of these are
quite feasible, given funding. Current thinking includes improvements on the alignment of the Otaki-Manakau section, a deviation from Kakariki to Porewa to avoid the steep grades into Marton, and easing a sharp, slow-speed curve north of Taihape. Longer term, and on a larger scale, grades on the coal route between the West Coast and Canterbury at Reefton, Cass and near Springfield could be eased, as could other curves on the Taihape - Taumarunui section.

Transit time also interacts with line capacity in terms of signalling and crossing loops. Signalling on the Rolleston - Arthur's Pass route is currently planned for upgrading to centralised traffic control and motorised points, which will improve speed, capacity and safety.

5.3.4 Clearances

A legacy of the nineteenth century construction is limited clearances, mainly through tunnels. The principal restriction is height rather than width, although height and width interact in the area of the curved roof of tight tunnels. Some usually less-used lines cannot take 9ft 6in-high containers, the modern „hi-cube' standard. Most principal lines can take these containers, albeit in some cases with limitations on the wagons that can be used, or with speed restrictions. The most important exceptions are Greymouth - Christchurch and North Auckland.

Currently, the line through the Manawatu Gorge to Napier, and the Marton-New Plymouth line are also restricted. A major project to remove the restrictive tunnel on the New Plymouth line has just been completed, and removal of the restrictive tunnels in the Manawatu Gorge will be completed this year.

On the Auckland-Tauranga and Invercargill-Port Chalmers routes, even higher containers, up to 10ft (3.05m), are allowed. These are special containers for internal use only, as they are also too large for export use. They are used mainly for dairy products as their size permits double stacking of product on pallets, and thus greater
efficiency. Double-stacking of standard pallet sizes is not possible in a 9ft 6in international container, a problem overcome for that journey by using slipsheets. Further work to extend the use of 3.05m containers throughout the network is feasible but is not currently planned.

In the longer term, clearances on the North Auckland line would need to be improved if Marsden Point becomes a major container port, but would require significant expenditure on a replacement for the Makarau tunnel, and as much again to improve many of the other 12 tunnels on the route between Auckland and Whangarei.

There are also plans to remove the first tunnel on the Rolleston - Arthur's Pass route, which is part of the Midland Line between Christchurch and the West Coast. This will improve speeds over that section but, because there are other restrictive tunnels further west, it will not improve clearances on the route as a whole.

5.3.5 Load capacity

Most of the network is capable of carrying 18-tonne axle loads. A 6-axle locomotive can therefore weigh a maximum of 108 tonnes and a 4-axle wagon a maximum of 72 tonnes. The most efficiently constructed wagon on the system at present has a tare weight of 15.5 tonnes, which means that it can carry 56.5 tonnes of freight (including containers).

Modern diesel-electric locomotives including most locomotives built for New Zealand's 1067mm gauge, weigh much more than 108 tonnes. Examples include Queensland's newest diesel-electrics at 119 and 120 tonnes. Given that the hauling power of a locomotive is at least partly related to the weight available for adhesion, an 18-tonne axle load is a limiting factor.

A target for the New Zealand rail network is therefore a 25-tonne axle load, a 39 percent increase on the 18-tonne load.

Both track and bridges are impacted by axle loads, and current track and bridges limit the ability to improve beyond 18 tonnes. It costs relatively little to design and build bridges for heavier loads, so code reviews are currently taking place so that new bridges will be built to carry 25-tonne axle loads. For some years, track has been built for a 22.5-tonne capability. But many bridges and much track remain from times before these standards were introduced, so a focused investment plan for a particular route is necessary before more than 18 tonnes is allowed. Bridges are the critical issue. An accelerated programme to replace the 2,900 wooden piers (521 bridges) is underway and 562m of bridge were replaced or upgraded in 2006-07.

Much of what is carried on New Zealand's rail and road networks is not dense enough to use more than 18-tonne axle loads and relatively few commodities would benefit from heavier axle loads. These include steel, coal, limestone, cement and bulk liquids such as wine in containers. International containers of some exports, such as some dairy
products, may also benefit. Import containers are usually lighter. Note though, that the trend to using 40-ft containers limits the usefulness of higher axle loads – the weight in a 40-ft container is limited by the structural strength of the container and the lifting capability of wharf cranes, which is usually less than 40 tonnes. This is well within the current 18-tonne axle load. Twenty-foot containers could well weigh in excess of 18.8 tonnes each; the practical limit for three of them on a wagon with an 18-tonne axle load. If 20-ft containers continue to be in common use, heavier axle loads may be beneficial.

KiwiRail is buying 100 new container wagons, mainly for Metroport traffic between Tauranga and Auckland. These are capable of an 80-tonne gross weight or 20-tonne axle load. With the tare weight of the wagon subtracted, it can carry nearly 62 tonnes of freight or three 20.5-tonne, 20-ft containers. Some older wagons could also have bogies
upgraded to 20-tonne axle load. These are both interim solutions, and further new container wagons could carry up to 65-tonne loads, still with a 20-tonne axle load. ONTRACK is actively looking at improving the Auckland-Hamilton line to carry 20-tonne axle loads as an early step on the way to 22.5 tonnes. Hamilton-Tauranga will be the next to follow.

Extending this to other routes would require significant expenditure.

5.3.6 Line capacity

Double-track sections of track have very high capacity in terms of the number of trains, depending on signal spacing. The main double-tracked routes outside suburban passenger areas are Papakura-Hamilton (90 km) and Heathcote-Islington in Christchurch (18km). The effective capacity of the Papakura-Hamilton line is limited by two singletracked sections (13km) from Auckland to Te Kauwhata and across the Waikato river at Ngaruawahia between Huntly and Hamilton. At present, they pose no real restriction on capacity.

Double track is being extended in West Auckland and Wellington, primarily for passenger trains. The freight network outside these routes is single tracked. The capacity of single-track routes is influenced by the number and length of crossing (passing) loops, and signalling systems. In much of the country these are appropriate to the traffic
demands on them. Most routes have relatively low-density traffic in terms of number of trains that are run.

When traffic is denser, lines can reach capacity constraints. On the Hamilton-Tauranga route the extension of crossing loops to 900 metres long and the construction of two new crossing loops, is underway at a cost of about $10 million. With the extension of a further loop east of the Kaimai tunnel, this expenditure will double the capacity of the line.

Replacing the signalling on the Midland line between Christchurch and the West Coast, noted above, will also increase the capacity of that line. Further improvements to crossing loops would benefit the North Island Main Trunk line (NIMT) in the central North Island and between Palmerston North and Waikanae.

5.3.7 Line extensions

The rail freight network reaches all significant parts of New Zealand, except Nelson. It also reaches all ports except Nelson and Marsden Point. A line is planned to connect Marsden Point to the network and work is underway to designate the route.

Further short extensions are likely to connect particular industrial plants directly to the network. The three currently under consideration are to a proposed cement works at Weston, near Oamaru (under action for designation), to a coal-loading facility (to be built this year) at Ikamatua, and a line to the dairy plant at Clandeboye.

The Onehunga branch is being reopened for passenger use. Part of the Rotorua branch near Putaruru is being reopened to serve a water-bottling plant. The remainder of the Rotorua branch may be reopened for passenger use if local plans to run passenger trains come to fruition.

While a number of parts of the network carry very light traffic, there are no current plans to close any of them.

5.3.8 Operations

Rail use is hampered by a lack of wagons and locomotives. As noted above, new container wagons have been purchased and a number of moth-balled wagons have been restored to service. With the return of rail freight to the government, the purchase of further new wagons is now being planned.

At present, there is heavy demand on the locomotive fleet at certain times of the year and the needs of freight have to compete with the growing demands for locomotives for passenger services, particularly in Auckland. Consequently, at these times there are no spare locomotives available for freight. Previously spare lower-powered locomotives have been refurbished and put into passenger service in Auckland. The purchase of new locomotives has been planned for some time, but not proceeded with because of the issues between Toll and ONTRACK. These issues have been resolved with the repurchase of the transport system, and the purchase of locomotives is now also planned. Meanwhile, some of the existing locomotive fleet has been improved, with larger engines and traction-control systems, significantly increasing the load the locomotives can haul up grades.

In recent years, container-transfer centres have been developed to expedite the movement of freight from road to rail. These are confined largely to main and secondary centres. Some expansion of this concept to other places is possible. Previous management linked the development of these sites to a reduction in direct access to industry via private sidings. This has reversed recently, but there are still issues with the availability of local train services to serve private sidings.

A similar concept ("inland ports") has been developed with the Metroport operation between Tauranga and South Auckland. The government is reported as having offered to contribute $6 million to the cost of providing rail access to the terminal, allowing the operation of shuttle trains from the port and taking heavy-vehicle traffic off the Auckland motorway network. This proposal is likely to go ahead.

[Paulsy]

I keep thinking that reinstating (and finishing) the old Nelson line along its original alignment could be a good thing. Most of the earth works are still there and it would enable Solid Energy to rail their coal to port in Nelson rather than all the way over to Lyttelton (LPC would of course hate this plan). It would also give a rather indirect (but fine for overnight) freight route between Nelson and Chch. After all Nelson is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It is also the biggest city without a rail link and has a port.

I guess it would lose money by the trailer load if it didn't get the coal contract but at least it would help take a pile of trucks off the road (of course the trucking companies would hate this).

Maybe it isn't such a good idea after all.

[sensible]

Originally Posted by Paulsy

I keep thinking that reinstating (and finishing) the old Nelson line along its original alignment could be a good thing. Most of the earth works are still there and it would enable Solid Energy to rail their coal to port in Nelson rather than all the way over to Lyttelton (LPC would of course hate this plan). It would also give a rather indirect (but fine for overnight) freight route between Nelson and Chch. After all Nelson is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It is also the biggest city without a rail link and has a port.

I guess it would lose money by the trailer load if it didn't get the coal contract but at least it would help take a pile of trucks off the road (of course the trucking companies would hate this).

Maybe it isn't such a good idea after all.

rumours flew throughout the 1990's that it was going to reopen to serve the forest industry. It would be more viable to connect Nelson to Blenhiem providing a more direct link to Christchurch.

If this government is serious about developing a sustainable transport network then reopening the old line and linking with wesport would be a goer. not hopefull though.

[NZ1]

Originally Posted by Paulsy

I keep thinking that reinstating (and finishing) the old Nelson line along its original alignment could be a good thing. Most of the earth works are still there and it would enable Solid Energy to rail their coal to port in Nelson rather than all the way over to Lyttelton (LPC would of course hate this plan). It would also give a rather indirect (but fine for overnight) freight route between Nelson and Chch. After all Nelson is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It is also the biggest city without a rail link and has a port.

I guess it would lose money by the trailer load if it didn't get the coal contract but at least it would help take a pile of trucks off the road (of course the trucking companies would hate this).

Maybe it isn't such a good idea after all.

If that line doesn't open, then perhaps the coastal shipping route is the next best option. That would allow access to near-by deep water ports, and links to N.Isle rail networks.

[kegan]

A couple of rail related things mentioned at the Waikato Transport Summit. Both articles from The National Business Review.

Rail boss outlines $1 billion spending plans
NBR - by Allan Swann | Friday October 17 2008 - 07:24am

New Zealand Railways Corporation acting CEO, William Peet, has laid out his roadmap for the country’s rail, throwing a few surprises into the mix.

Speaking at the Waikato Transport Summit this week, he laid out a clearer picture of how the $1 billion set aside for his state-owned enterprise would be spent over the next five years.

Mr Peet was appointed acting chief executive officer of the New Zealand Railways Corporation in October 2007 following the re-nationalisation of the rail sector.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen announced the government’s purchase of Toll NZ for $690 million in May 2008.

It was renamed KiwiRail, and with Ontrack and other entities now fall under the New Zealand Railways Corporation as subsidiaries.
Mr Peet summed up the birth of the entity succinctly, “we can’t shed costs faster than revenue.”

He was referring to the various stages of stalled infrastructure spending and funding on rail over the years, to justify the subsidies his corporation needed.

Controversy has stemmed from protectionist rules introduced to favour the newly formed company that effectively limit freight competition from the trucking companies.

They include the limiting of road tonnage and competing freight routes along rail corridors.

Of the $1 billion over five years, only $121 million is available this year, on top of the $80 million for Tranz Scenic lines to tidy up its operations.
The long-term plan is to spend the $1 billion on a new series of high power, double headed locomotives, rehabilitation of the railway network, the construction of freight hubs and IT upgrades.

“By 2010 we hope to be relatively stable,” Mr Peet said.
He also stressed that all spending of these funds would decided by the NZRC board, not the government: “there will be no pork barrel spending here.”

NBR understands there has been a suggestion from Dr Cullen’s office that the company may not have access to the full $1 billion and that the company may be pushed towards self-sufficiency well before the five-year term is up.

If there is, Mr Peet isn’t showing the look of a chief executive under pressure, even if he is only in the acting role at present.

“Look, we’re not just here to talk about how great rail is, we’re about action. Judge us by our actions,” he said.

Mr Peet believes that long term in a post-Kyoto, post-ETS world, carbon emissions mean that rail is really the only way to go in the long term.

He estimates rail is three to seven times more efficient than road transport, which is congested and approaching capacity with little hope for viable expansion.

Rail, on the other hand, he believes is “under-utilised,” noting that huge spends on highway upgrades to the North and West of Auckland are significantly more expensive than the $1 billion rail upgrade.

Mr Peet did joke that the Northern Expressway will one day become rail.

“We’re happy for them to run the busway till it chokes up, then they’ll come to us and look at rail,” he chuckled adding, “it’s a great corridor, and corridors are our right to exist.”

The system currently moves 14 million tonnes nationwide, and is focusing on expanding its corridors by double tracking north of Hamilton. The goal of the infrastructure build is to produce reliability – “its our first goal” – rather than being overly ambitious.

At this stage the railway network between Auckland and Hamilton can carry 56.5 tonnes. He’s aiming for 62 tonnes, once the first round of upgrades are complete.

In terms of the growth in rail-based freight, Transport Engineering Research New Zealand believes that it will increase 100% by 2020, and the recently released National Freight Demands Study pegged 75% growth by 2031.

Another problem getting focus is the 19 wooden bridges on the network that need to be “blown up” and rebuilt.

“They’re just not a good look for a modern railway,” he laughed.

Electrification of the freight lines is not on the cards. The capex required to electrify the network meant that the benefit cost per tonne wasn’t better than what they were achieving currently.

While confident commenting on rural lines, Mr Peet conceded that the Auckland metro upgrades would be nowhere near as easy; although he does believe that electric passenger rail from Auckland to Hamilton will be possible “much sooner than many people think.”

The company is one to two months into its electrification project to Papakura, and as he put it, “When we get that far, we’re going to ask ‘do you really want us to stop here?’”

Fonterra expands it's already large store operation in Hamilton. More rail freight.

New milk coolstore to take 4000 truckloads off the road
NBR - by Allan Swann | Friday October 17 2008 - 07:26am

Fonterra’s whopping new Waikato Crawford Street coolstore is expected to boost the company’s cheese and cream efficiencies.

The coolstore is to be added to the 50,000 tonne Crawford St dry store, which was completed in August 2005, to instant success.

Crawford St offered a consolidated staging area for Fonterra’s Waikato dairy operations, particularly Te Rapa and Te Awamutu, which produce 55% of the regions milk.

Its key advantage is the direct link to the main rail trunk line juncture, allowing easy access to the Port of Auckland (72%) and Port of Tauranga (20%), and manufacturing and storage facilities at Te Awamutu, Morrinsville, Waitoa, Hautapu, Waharoa, Lichfield and Tirau. It also services Fonterra’s Te Rapa and Canpac operations.

In 2007, the facility accounted for 40% of KiwiRail’s operations in the region, pumping out 26771 Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit’s (TEUs). Fonterra projects the company will do 30,000 TEUs this year.
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[Moveax]

It would really suck if there was electrification between Hamilton and Auckland but not Wellington and Palmerston North. I know that Auckland will use 25kvac like the current NIMT electrification so closing the gap will be easy. I know that Wellington uses 1500vdc but it is possible to have dual voltage locomotives, even the TGV in france uses both voltages. If we do get new electric locomotives I certainly hope that they will be dual voltage capable. At the very least maybe some of the current Ef's could be converted for dual voltage. They are 25kvac locomotives but as far as I know it is transformed to 1500vac and then rectified to 1500vdc inside the locomotive, so conversion should require just some kind of switch between running the power through the transformer and rectifier as is right now, and bypass the transformer and rectifier when running in Wellington.

Edit: The last two times a passenger service between Hamilton and Auckland has been tried it has failed (although without Britomart + such high fuel prices so it could be a different story this time around). So who knows how useful electric passenger services south of Papakura would be, but the Capital Connection is very well used, there was an article not so long ago about how crowded it got because 1 of the 8 carriages was out of service for maintenance.

Maybe while we're at it also electrify to Masterton. Quite a bit of freight their in future (logs/wood products) and it would be great if the Wairarapa Connection could be electrically hauled too.

[kegan]

If freight is going to be used as a large part of the justification for electrification, Auckland-Hamilton is a lot more important than Wellington-Palmy.

I would like to see the Wellington system eventually converted to 25kV AC (although this is unlikely any time soon). I believe it is technically possible but probably bloody expensive. This sort of conversion was done in the UK - e.g. the lines out of Liverpool St and Fenchurch St in London were originally electrified at 1500V DC but were converted to 25kV AC (and the units too).

[deepred]

More endorsement...

Transport summit backs rail
By NIKKI PRESTON - Waikato Times | Saturday, 18 October 2008

New Zealand's transport system has come full circle, with companies looking at trains and coastal shipping as cheaper and greener alternatives to trucking.

While all forms of transport, including the possibility of air cargo were touched on at the Waikato transport summit in Hamilton this week, government organisations and primary goods firms favoured rail as the solution for taking pressure off the roads.

Currently, 92 per cent of freight, by weight, is transported via road, 6 per cent by rail, 2 per cent by coastal shipping and nothing is transported by air, according to the national freight demands study.

However, in terms of the length of haul, rail and coastal shipping have a larger share of the market, representing 15 per cent each. Road makes up the additional 70 per cent.

The regional council, Environment Waikato, said that though building the Waikato Expressway was its No 1 focus, it was also looking at reducing traffic and ensuring safety on the roads.

The council saw trains as a way to ensure safety and reducing New Zealand's footprint, chairman Peter Buckley said.

"It's just demonstrated that we are going back to the past of what we used to do with rail and coastal shipping. "With everything going into road we have taken a step back for the environment," he said. "With the amount of goods you can move on rail compared to the amount of diesel you use is quite significant."

Trains emit around four times less from carbon than heavy road vehicles, according to the study.

The research showed that for emissions of carbon dioxide in grams per tonne/km, road produced 123, heavy road 93, rail 23 and coastal shipping 14.

Milk and dairy products, logs and wood products and aggregates are among the most frequently carried products.

Dairy giant Fonterra began streamlining operations in 2003 and developed the Crawford St, Te Rapa, site, which mainly uses rail to transport its dry goods to its six Waikato sites.

The Te Rapa factory still uses trucks because there are no rail links with the site.

A new cool store planned at the Crawford St site is expected to reduce 4000 truck movements per annum when it opens in November next year.

Tony Smith, Fonterra's logistics manager of global trade, said trains had enabled Fonterra to replace 45,000 truck movements.

However, Fonterra still relied heavily on trucks, with 59 per cent of its stock still transported by road.

Mr Smith said 20 per cent of Fonterra's New Zealand business was transported by train and this accounted for 40 per cent of KiwiRail's business. Fonterra used only 8.5 per cent of the rail network at this stage.

William Peet, acting chief executive of the NZ Rail Corporation which operated the KiwiRail and OnTrack brands, said Waikato was an important business for the company and it planned to continue working with Fonterra and other dairy companies to encourage them to use trains as their preferred transport medium.

"We are just scratching the surface of how we work with them (Fonterra)," Mr Peet said. "We are still working on how we can do as much of their product as we possibly can."

The dairy companies were part of an aggressive strategy by the company to promote train use both in Waikato and nationally.

"The company had very very strong prospectives," he said. "The rail carrier could be used a lot more."

Mr Peet said that unlike his predecessors he planned to act rather than simply talk.

Using the $200 million-plus government funding would improve the network and NZ Rail was already in the process of ordering new trains to replace the locomotives.

NZ Rail denied it was getting into direct competition with truck operators.

"It's not rail versus road, it's how we get the best out of both," Mr Peet said.

"We are looking at how we can take trucks off the road, not today's trucks, but tomorrow's trucks.

Richard Paling, director of Richard Paling Consulting which conducted the study for the Transport Ministry, Economic Development Ministry and Land Transport New Zealand, said while the government had committed to investing in the train network, he did not think it would not be the sole focus.

"It is looking for a balanced transport network which involved rail, trucks and coastal shipping.

"It is recognised that the rail and coastal shipping will have an important part to play if the Government is going to achieve targets set out in its New Zealand Transport Strategy."

He did not think it was about rail competing for the same budget as the roading network, but said there was a lot of work to be done on New Zealand's road and as such projects like the Waikato Expressway had to be made a priority.

Port of Tauranga, which claims to handle 51 per cent more imported cargo than its nearest New Zealand competitor, said it was also committed to using trains as the best way to move goods to and from the port where possible.

This was because rail was between four and five times more efficient than truck, according to Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns.

"Rail is the appropriate mode with an increasing 40 per cent of cargo coming in and out of the port by rail," he said.

But Mr Cairns said ports were still key to transporting freight, with 98 per cent of freight passing through a port before it went elsewhere.

Its competitor, Ports of Auckland, agreed that trains were going to become more important, particularly in Auckland with its ongoing congestion problems.

Ports of Auckland managing director Jens Marsden said carbon emissions had moved to the top of the company's agenda.

"We want to invest in a sustainable future and eliminate a lot of waste in the transport sector."

--------

[kegan]

KiwiRail has recently taken delivery of 100 new container wagons.

• 60 for Tauranga - Auckland MetroPort service.
• 40 for general traffic.
• Wagons can carry either three 20ft containers or a 40ft container and a 20ft container.
• Capable of 20T axle load (subject to track & bridge upgrading).

(source: KiwiRail press release)

[Moveax]

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/3...s-could-go-acc

...there did not seem to be the money to fulfil big rail funding promises, Mr English said.

No change at all, we're just back to the 90's.

[Svartmetall]

Originally Posted by Moveax

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/3...s-could-go-acc



Fuck you asshole. Fuck you. No change at all, we're just back to the 90's asshole shitheads.

Darn, that is a disappointment considering the headway we were making with KiwiRail.

[jarbury]

The ACC issue is so predictable, I remember hearing about it yonks ago.

Effectively the funding shortfall only exists because ACC changed its policies in a way that meant it had to have all the possible funding necessary for all claims on the book at any one time (or something like that). Never mind that the money would only need to be paid out slowly... this made their liabilities leap hugely, even though in reality nothing had changed.

[NZ1]

Do you have a link to any articles on that Jarbury? Nothing has come out in the media about that (not surprising though).

[jarbury]

I wish I did NZ1. I very vaguely remember a few Herald articles about the issue back in 2006/2007 perhaps. Sorry I don't have any more information.

[NZ1]

That's okay. Would be interesting to see how things started. I'm surprised that neither side of the house have brought this stuff up! Politicians

[jarbury]

Maybe it isn't as directly related as I'm linking the issues... but my main memory was that the change was a ticking time-bomb that required ACC to have masses more money than they needed to before. Which is pretty similar to what we've ended up with.

[Moveax]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4797513a23917.html

start immediately on plans to curb the persistent growth in debt levels, dumping Labour's plans where they were unfunded, and trimming planned spending on KiwiRail.

An even more terrible start than I expected. I didn't think anything as terrible as dumping the renewable energy, biofuel and rail spending would occur this fast.

[Svartmetall]

Originally Posted by Moveax

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4797513a23917.html



Once again. Fuck you, Fuck you assholes. An even more terrible start than I expected. I didn't think anything as terrible as dumping the renewable energy, biofuel and rail spending would occur this fast.

I did, and so did the Green party. Can't say I'm surprised on this front at all.

[jarbury]

I do wonder how many people who voted National are really starting to regret it...

... probably nowhere near enough as should be.

[kegan]

ONTRACK serves notice for Marsden Point rail designation
22/12/2008

ONTRACK, a member of the KiwiRail Group, confirmed today it has served a Notice of Requirement on Whangarei District Council for the designation of the Oakleigh to Marsden Point Rail link.
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