Rail campaigners Future is Rail are highlighting a proposal from Napier Port that they say would lower the cost of the rail-enabled Wellington ferry terminal, which was a key factor in cancelling the IREX ferry project.

The coalition government cancelled an existing contract for two new ferries last December after the budget blew out to nearly $3 billion. The new low-emission ferries would have been a step towards decarbonisation for Kiwirail, as well as securing the rail connection between the North and South Islands.

The government has considered buying smaller ferries that are not rail enabled, or second-hand vessels, but has not yet announced a decision.

Now Napier Port is suggesting that it takes containerised import and export freight currently travelling through Wellington.

This would mean that Wellington’s CentrePort would no longer need to take containerised freight and a new multi-user rail-enabled ferry terminal could be built on the vacated land at a cost much lower than the Kaiwharawhara site, while Wellington could still export log traffic and host passenger cruise ships.

Winstone Pulp’s recent closure means that Napier Port will lose some freight, while the port has infrastructure for significantly more capacity.

In a blog published over the weekend, the Future of Rail says the suggestion makes sense, with expensive engineering formerly planned to overcome problems with the Kaiwharawhara site including seismic instability, flooding risk and substantial land reclamation.

‘[It would be] a win-win where costs of the overall project are reduced.”

While Wellington’s CentrePort is a low volume container port with few prospects for growth, the Thorndon wharf area is already seismically stabilised, has no risk of flooding, and is already rail and road connected.

“It enables an Inner Harbour Precinct (Next to the Wellington Railway station where Bluebridge currently berth) to be expanded by including Kings wharf reconnecting the city at that end of town better to its Waterfront. Cruise ships could also berth here like for example they do in Circular Quay in Sydney giving a much nicer window to [the] city for Cruise Ship passenger visits.

“And, most importantly, the costs of developing the terminal would be significantly lower than the Kaiwharawhara site.”

However in 2022 CentrePort’s major owner, Greater Wellington Regional Council, rejected a similar proposal from Port Napier to take over CentrePort’s container shipping business, supporting an earlier decision from CentrePort.

Too many ports

Transport consultant Michael van Drogenbroek says Napier Port’s proposal could be part of a national ports strategy for New Zealand, with the government ensuring more efficiency. “Having too many ports in New Zealand isn’t good for emissions or economic efficiencies.”

There are 10 container ports throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Tauranga has by far the most throughput, with Napier number five and Wellington’s CentrePort number seven.

The Kaiwharawhara site, where Kiwrail currently are in Wellington, is directly over a faultline, requiring extensive and seismic strengthening. “Moving it a few hundred metres away would make it more resilient and therefore cheaper to build.”

The proposal would also support more use of the Palmerston North to Napier rail line for freight as tonnage previously bound for Wellington would likely head to Napier instead, which could eventually allow the return of a modern faster lower emission version of the Bay Express passenger train.

Van Drogenbroek says that maintaining the national rail network is vitally important for decarbonisation.

“The primary benefit [of the proposal] is to preserve national rail network continuity, which is at risk of not being maintained. We want more passengers on rail because it is much more carbon-friendly.”

However he worries that the rail network is falling victim to current ideological culture wars, with vested interests pushing to undermine rail. “There are a lot of people who are just anti-rail and can’t stand it. It’s a bit of a neoliberal thing.”

He says comments from finance minister Nicola Willis that rail-enabled ferries are outdated were not accurate, with some countries around the world only moving away from rail-enabled ferries because they were instead building tunnels for trains.

Van Drogenbroek says New Zealand is backwards in reducing its rail network, while other countries are strengthening theirs to decarbonise. “I worked in the Middle-East, and they are getting behind rail networks rather than reducing them.

“Rail is a much more carbon-friendly way to move freight and it can be less costly if you do it in the right way.”

However he is worried that the country is moving in the wrong direction. “New Zealand is moving towards becoming more carbon intensive. It’s quite odd that we are regressive in that way.”

“New Zealand seems to be having an ideological burp after all the progress to decarbonise. There’s a bit of indigestion pushing us back.”

Carbon News has contacted Centreport and Greater Wellington Regional Council, which is the port’s majority shareholder, for comment.