A large slip fell over the main railway freight line between Auckland and Northland during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Photo: RNZ / Rayssa Almeida

A massive slip has closed the main railway freight line between Auckland and Northland.

Hundreds of freight containers will now have to be trucked on Northland’s already fragile roads each week.

It was one of a number of KiwiRail lines that will remain closed over the coming months.

Line to Northland

Significant flood damage has resulted in the line to Northland remaining closed.

KiwiRail chief operations officer Siva Sivapakkiam said 50 slips fell on the rail line between Swanson and Whangārei.

“Our track teams have been busy clearing vegetation, repairing damaged rails and replacing culverts and we are still working through detailed engineering assessments for significant slips and flood damaged bridges.”

North Auckland line

KiwiRail expects the north Auckland line to remain closed for at least 10-12 weeks.

Work on a 35,000 cubic metre slip across the road and rail line near Tahekeroa (between Helensville and Wellsford) was starting this week, Sivapakkiam said.

A large, temporary earth bund would be built so the slip can be cleared safely, then a permanent earth bund and significant drainage improvements will be built to help prevent future slips, he said.

[5:05 pm] Rayssa Almeida
More than 40 extra freight trucks per day will be on the already fragile roads of Northland after a major slip on the region’s main rail network. The North Auckland Line, between Swanson and Whangarei is expected to be closed for months – stopping all rail freight services to and from Northland.
Photo: RNZ / Rayssa Almeida

Hawke’s Bay

The line between Woodville and Hastings was expected to remain closed for at least 3- 4 weeks.

“Once open it will allow us to then road freight to and from Napier,” Sivapakkiam said.

“Track repairs are making good progress, detailed inspections of bridges are progressing, and we are setting up the temporary road-rail container terminal in Hastings.”

It would be months before the section of line between Hastings and Napier would reopen, he said.

The line was badly damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle with a number of bridges damaged.

Bridge 217, north of Clive, lost piers and spans.

Napier – Wairoa track

There were a number of washouts and slips of various sizes on the track between Napier and Wairoa.

While high-level assessments have been undertaken via helicopter, ground level track inspections would begin this week.

“Given access to the rail line is difficult in some areas, inspections will take time,” Sivapakkiam said.

“Our focus has to be on reopening the rail line to Hastings and then Napier, so at this stage Napier to Wairoa, which is used to transport logs, is expected to remain closed for some time.”