My Account
The rail line through Wellsford is looking a lot cleaner and tidier, thanks to recent improvement works by KiwiRail.
Staff and contractors have been working in the Wellsford area as part of a major project to upgrade the line from Auckland to Whangarei, replacing old timber sleepers, installing new rails that can carry heavier loads and replacing three culverts.
At the same time, a number of embankments along the line have been cleared and tidied, with rubbish, weeds and pest plants removed. KiwiRail said that, wherever possible, it had been using local contractors and sourcing materials locally for the Wellsford line improvements.
One local resident impressed with the improvements is Caroline Milner, whose home overlooks the track at the southern end of Wellsford.
“I moved here six years ago, in the middle of 2016, and you couldn’t even see the track then from my place, there was bamboo everywhere,” she said.
“It was all rats, rubbish and noxious weeds.”
Milner approached KiwiRail to see if they could help to improve matters, which has now been done as part of the $200 million Northland rail rejuvenation project funded by central government in 2020.
Meanwhile, Milner has been showing her gratitude for the improvements to her view (not to mention a huge drop in the rat population) by baking fresh muffins for the crews working on the line, culverts and embankments.
“The rail corridor is looking the best it’s ever been,” she said.
The project is designed to allow larger modern containers and heavier loads to be carried on the line, and thereby reduce the number of heavy trucks on the roads.
“With freight volumes in Northland expected to increase from 18 million tonnes a year to 23 million tonnes by 2042, rail is a crucial part of developing an efficient, integrated road-rail transport system for the region,” a KiwiRail spokesperson said.
“Rail helps reduce overall transport emissions, given each tonne of freight carried by rail has 70 per cent fewer emissions than that carried by road.”
