Big Bill Looms For Govt To Replace Rail Ferries
February 19th, 2009
The Govt is potentially going to have to find hundreds of millions of dollars to replace and or upgrade the aging inter-island Cook Strait ferries. A briefing paper prepared on the state of the interisland ferry operations for Govt ministers says the 25 year-old Arahura owned outright by Kiwirail underwent a refit in 2008 to keep it compliant with Safety of Lives at Sea regulations for carrying passengers beyond September this year. However, it notes the refit is a stop-gap measure pending the outcome of negotiations on the future of rail in NZ. It is intended the Arahura will need replacing by 2016 or before. The Aratere may also need replacing at the same time, though there is an option of reconfiguring it to increase its capacity, speed and reliability.
Leasing not an option. There is little or no prospect of just leasing existing vessels as replacements as the Arahura and leased Aratere were purpose-built for the service and contain dedicated decks for rail freight. Such vessels cannot be leased so new purpose built vessels will have to be purchased if inter island rail freight operations are to continue. The Kaitaki, leased to 2010 with a option for a three year extension cannot take rail wagons. Any new vessels will also require investment in new road and rail link spans and passenger gangways at ports.
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