{"id":89064,"date":"2024-07-18T09:12:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T23:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/?p=116880"},"modified":"2024-07-18T09:12:23","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T23:12:23","slug":"freight-trains-make-temporary-return-to-northern-diversion-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=89064","title":{"rendered":"Freight trains make temporary return to Northern Diversion line"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image:Sheryl\/stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the next few months KiwiRail<\/a> will have people and machinery working on the Northern Diversion freight line between Masterton and Pahiatua, getting it ready for the temporary return of freight locomotives at the end of this year.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It has been around 10 years since the line last saw one of our freight services and it will reopen between 27 December and 9 February 2025 while the Masterton to Wellington<\/a> line is closed for major upgrade work.<\/p>\n

KiwiRail Programme Director Andy Lyon says bringing the Northern Diversion temporarily back into service will help keep trucks off the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of sending logs by truck over the Remutaka Hill during summer when there is already lots of traffic on the road, we have made the call to bring the Northern Diversion line into use.\u00a0 That means taking logs the long way around from Wairarapa to Palmerston North, and back down the Kapiti line to Wellington,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver this summer there\u2019ll be at least one freight service per day on the Northern Diversion shifting the equivalent of 72 truckloads of logs, which means safer roads and less emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping the line in good working order also improves resilience, and means we can always get it up and running at short notice should something happen to the main trunk line.”<\/p>\n

KiwRail work crew are currently carrying out maintenance, clearing vegetation away from the tracks, replacing sleepers where needed and closely checking all of the rail bridges along the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the next few weeks we will be starting work on the overbridge at Eketahuna, which needs a bit of a facelift to carry the loads our freight trains will introduce, as well as replacing old sleepers in locations where they have started to decay,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n

Lyon said the crew will be giving extra attention to level crossings to make sure they are in perfect working order and are fully visible with good signage in place before the first test train comes through in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re mindful that people won\u2019t be used to seeing trains passing through their towns.\u00a0 Daily service and travel times will vary based on demand, so it\u2019s really important that people are super vigilant around tracks and crossings,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to working with communities to make sure people know what\u2019s happening and there is plenty of information out there about safety around trains and level crossings in particular.”<\/p>\n

The post Freight trains make temporary return to Northern Diversion line<\/a> appeared first on Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Image:Sheryl\/stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the next few months KiwiRail will have people and machinery working on the Northern Diversion freight line between Masterton \u2026 <\/p>\n

The post Freight trains make temporary return to Northern Diversion line<\/a> appeared first on Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10519,10520,166,163],"tags":[10376],"class_list":["post-89064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maintenance-and-repairs","category-operations-maintenance","category-operations-and-maintenance","category-rail-industry-news-australia-new-zealand","tag-rail-express"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t