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KiwiRail and Fonterra are celebrating a full return of rail volume to Northland rail.
With the North Auckland Line reopening in September, Fonterra has gradually ramped up its rail volume to sixteen rail wagons per day.
“Returning to full rail volume and transitioning away from the temporary road operation is a significant milestone for Fonterra,” says Fonterra director of global supply chain Santiago Aon.
“Rail strongly supports our customer and sustainability commitments. Being able to return to rail in Northland helps to improve safety, reduce congestion, avoid carbon emissions and lower road maintenance costs for the region.”
Each tonne of freight moved by rail results in a 70 per cent reduction in carbon emissions compared to road transport, supporting Fonterra’s dedication to lowering its environmental impact while meeting the needs of its customers.
A resilient North Auckland Rail Line is critical to Fonterra’s network and delivery to its customers. KiwiRail chief asset development officer David Gordon says the North Auckland Line has undergone significant work to improve resilience.
“We understand the importance of resilience to Fonterra and, to help make the line more resilient in future weather events, we have improved culverts and drainage, strengthened slip-prone slopes and installed close to 500 metres of retaining structures.
“This milestone highlights the importance of this part of our network to Fonterra and the impact to them when it is not operational.
“With the return of full rail volume, we are fully committed to ensuring our network’s resilience, providing consistently strong on-time performance, and delivering the significant Value of Rail benefits that are important to both Fonterra and its customers.
“Northland is a critical part of Fonterra’s New Zealand network, and we’ll be putting our best foot forward to support their operations and ESG goals.”
