THE PRESS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1981. Electric trains

Press, 19 December 1981, Page 16

THE PRESS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1981. Electric trains

The approval given for work to proceed on the electrification of more than 400 kilometres of the North Island Main Trunk Line is good news for New Zealand Railways — and for the country as a whole. While many energy-related projects which require heavy investment are embroiled in controversy, there is almost universal agreement that this project makes good sense. It requires large but not excessive investment, provides a useful number of jobs while the work is being done and promises continuing and significant savings of overseas funds. The approval for design work and technical investigations to begin, given well over a year ago, was a sign that a decision to go ahead was likely. The expected costs of the project have mounted since that initial approval was given and may well mount higher before the work is done. In the early 19505, a proposal for mainline electrification of New Zealand’s railways was shelved in favour of diesel locomotion largely because the capital '

costs of electrification were seen then as being teo high. The oil crisis has changed the calculations. Even though the capital costs of electrification are still formidably high, the increases in the price of oil have given electrification an economic edge when running costs are balanced against capital costs.

The savings of foreign exchange from lower fuel imports will, it is confidently expected, considerably exceed the import costs of plant and equipment needed for the capital works of electrification. The advantages of lower bills fur oil imports through the years will be felt throughout the economy. Almost one quarter of the fuel used by New Zealand Railways is used on the section of the North Island Main Trunk which is to be electrified. Electrification also offers the country the

benefit of running a major part of the country’s transport system on an indigenous source of energy. Having the railways competing for less diesel in the event of a shortage of oil might one day be of great significance.

The Government’s decision is also, clearly, a shot in the arm for the railways, almost a declaration "of faith by the Government in the ability of the railway system to meet certain transport needs better than any other mode of transport. The railways now have a fresh opportunity to show that, given necessary investment, they can pull their due weight in the country’s transport system. If the full benefits of electrification accrue to the railways through faster, more efficient services, lower operating expenses and lower maintenance costs, the system will earn fair claim on further investment.

This may well take the form of further investment in electrification of railway lines, first of the remainder of the North Island Main Trunk, then possibly of other lines. It must be acknowledged, however, that the North Island Main Trunk is something of a special case because a heavy volume of traffic passes over a line which has steep grades and tight curves. South Islanders may feel aggrieved that more is being spent on the North Island Main Trunk than its South Island counterpart. Considerable sums have been spent on the line between Christchurch and Picton, but nothing approaching the sums that have been spent already on the new Poro-o-tarao tunnel and the MangawekaUtiku deviation on the North Island Main Trunk, let alone the sums that will be spent over the next few years on electrification. Electrification of certain sections of South Island lines may come, but the case is compelling for the North Island Main Trunk to be electrified first.