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A new passenger rail service between Hokitika and Westport is part of a shortlist of projects to revitalize the west coast economy
Inland Punakaiki
Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal [19659005] This is part of a $ 625,000 investment plan announced by the government today, aimed at reviving rail, ports and cities.
The Minister of Rural Communities and MP for West Coast Tasman Damien O. Connor said that this was the first step The new rail service would complement the existing TranzAlpine service and include a new station in Hokitika and a car maintenance facility at Greymouth
.
Chris Mackenzie, Chief Development Officer West Coast, said he was excited about the idea of this idea.
"I think this is part of a tourism strategy that KiwiRail, working with Air New Zealand and perhaps bus lines, could make a very viable option to attract tourists to the northern part of the West Coast. "
But doing it would work a lot," said Mr. Mackenzie.
"The feasibility study must be reasonably complete to wrestle with because the last thing you want to do is to create a business that, in the end, will not be sustainable. "
] Damien O. Connor
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Mr. O. Connor is joined to the Minister of Regional Economic Development Shane Jones and Under Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau on the Coast for the announcement today.
Following the announcement of the previous government a year ago, it planned to pump millions of dollars off the west coast, in order to move its economy away from coal mines.
M O. Connor stated that the plan had no vision and excluded many important industries, including
"Building on what the c west side had already been the best way to go. "
" Building the back of tourist success, the back of the dairy – we still have a good timber and fishing industry, so there is a huge potential here but waiting for big projects is in my opinion not the best use of our time or resources. "
Mr. O. Connor said that the focus would also be on the importance of the ports at Greymouth and Westport. [19659006] Taxpayers in the Gray District subsidize the port of Greymouth because user fees do not cover all its operating costs
The Buller District Council removed dredging services from all commercial users Mickey Ryan
RNZ / Tracy Neal
West Coast tour operator and former fishing school operator, Mickey Ryan, successive governments promised a lot, but they failed.
"My old man was going to kick in his coffin knowing what the Laboratory has become. I can tell you now, "said Mr. Ryan.
Mr. O. Connor stated that the ports of Greymouth and Westport had a future in the growth of cabotage in New Zealand.
"Greymouth is a very important fishing port. Greymouth and Westport are at the back door of important tuna and tuna fisheries.
RNZ reported last year that nearly 10,000 people had left the region in the last three decades because of economic decline. which extends on the same distance as Wellington up to Auckland
Garry Howard, Mayor of Buller District, who was no stranger to the ideas that came and went, thought that one new rail service was a splendid idea to stimulate the region's prospects
.
photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Mickey Ryan said that he was currently working on the Otira Tunnel because tourism was gone.He said it was a good idea but that it would cost millions of dollars.
"I looked at the rail here a few years ago and the line is ranked" two ", or something like that. Basically, it will take a lot to allow passengers to circulate there, including the need for new bridges. "
Fletcher Tabuteau said that, if possible, the new passenger rail service would help West Coast Tourism achieve its goal of 1.1 million visitors by 2021.
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