Challenge Begins for Wiri to Prove Worth
February 2010
The Port of Auckland’s new rail link between the sea terminal and the Wiri Inland Port is complete, with the first train calling this week. What the Auckland freight community can look forward to now is some interesting developments while the rail exchanges add growth to the Wiri site.
Although Ports of Auckland sees Wiri as a major step forward, and a valuable staging point for shippers who will be able to drop off and pick up containers without having to negotiate the Auckland motorways, the cost implications of double-handling have always been something of an issue to the freight community.
There are also detractors who have suggested it should not have been created at Wiri at all, but would logically have been better placed on the land Ports of Auckland holds near the major railhead at Southdown.
Further debate was made inevitable when the outgoing Labour Government, as a parting shot, decided to put money into rail link, thereby declaring it to be a “network” benefit (i.e. for the good of New Zealand as a whole) rather than a “commercial” benefit (i.e. for the good of Ports of Auckland alone).
This compares with the Port of Tauranga’s development of the MetroPort inland facility, which was done with no Government funding at all.
Now, with the freight link in place, Ports of Auckland will be going full steam ahead to prove Wiri is a winner. In the last year or two the port has made a point of diverting volume to Wiri, moving freight that previously went through the East Tamaki inland terminal and also transferring Axis Pack freight station activities.
Eyes will also be on the operational performance of Conlinxx, the company formed to run Wiri that is 70% owned by Ports of Auckland and 30% owned by NZL Group. The creation of the JV confirms the parties are closely aligned, having been involved in NZL’s so-far-abortive attempt to create a terminal operation in Tauranga.
One area Wiri seems sure to have a winning card to play is in emissions. The port estimates the rail link will eventually save up to 2.5 million truck kilometres per year – the equivalent of 100,000 central city truck trips.
Customers based within eight kilometres of the inland port will be able to reduce the carbon emissions of transporting their containers by up to 25%, it says.
Initially KiwiRail will run four services of 23 wagons a week in each direction between Wiri and the Auckland seaport.
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