Todd Dawson and Alan Piper: Napier Port CEO and KiwiRail Executive Manager of Freight Markets on the new logging train from Palmerston North to Hawke’s Bay

Following the closure of the Tangiwai Mill in the Ruapehu District, forestry company Ernslaw One has found a new way to continue production and keep contractors in work.

They've struck a deal with KiwiRail and Napier Port where log trains now run five days a week on the Napier-Palmerston North line, dropping off 600 tonnes of logs to Napier Port.

It removes 21 logging trucks off the road.

Napier Port CEO Todd Dawson and KiwiRail Executive Manager of Freight Markets Alan Piper unpacked the benefits of this deal. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So after the closure of the tonguey Wai mill in
the Ruapehu district, forestry company Earnslaw has found a way
to sorry ernsaw Won has found a way to continue
production and keep its contractors in work. You see, the
unswol used to take the logs to the pulp and
paper mill, used to be made into pulp of paper
and then you know stuff actually ended out coming on

(00:20):
in anyway, what's happened is they have struck a deal
with Kiwi Rail and Napier Port where log trains now
run five days a week on the Napier Parmiston North line,
dropping off six hundred tons of unprocessed logs, but the
still exploitable to Napier Port. In doing this it removes
twenty one logging trucks off the road. If you know
your Hawk's Bay, you know that locals have long said

(00:41):
why do we always have logging trucks slamming through Hastings
and through through Napier to get to be shipped off.
So this is a this is a good idea. Napier
Port Chief Executive Officer Todd Dawson and Kiwi Rail Executive
General Manager of Freight Markets Alan Paper joins me. Now
Ted and Allen. Hello Andrew, here's the other one that Andrew. No,

(01:02):
just checking I had two of you, Todd, Todd, we
will we will start with you from Napier Port. How
did this deal come to be?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, look, it's it's a great deal, and it's it's
come about through I guess, some really good collaboration amongst
the parties that have been involved into little one, Kiwi Rail,
ourselves and McCarthy's transport. You know, it's a logical solution
for for the movement of logs through the through the
port takes as you said, you know, it takes a
lot of trucks off the road that are damaging the

(01:34):
roads and things like that too. So just a lot
of work and and logic being applied and some good
collaboration amongst the interested parties to make it happen, which
is really awesome to see.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
How big a change is it though, to go from
receiving process to process would and with timber, lumber and
pulp to receiving big old logs at the port.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
It was a fair bit of change, a fear bit
of change at both ends a supply chain, both up
and tangy way and also in general there's a lot
less moving parts involved than moving the lots of trained
There are more touch points in terms of moving logs
straight out of the bush on trains through to the fort,
but versus there as you're asking around the pulp versus cinema.

(02:18):
It's a little less complex actually, So it's a bit
of change, but nothing that's not manageable.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
And where are the logs being shipped to? Who takes
this stuff?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
All of the majority of New Zealand's logs in general
go up to China probably bet not even send them
go up to China, and the rest of them to
various different parts of the world.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Let's go to keep me well, Alan, there must have
been a no brainer. I mean, you've got rid of trucks,
you put them on trains.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yes's fantastic. Look, it's going to put about the nineteen wagons,
probably up to one hundred and twenty thousand tons a year.
That allows for the sort of break, the harvesting break,
the cruise. The hard working crews have sort of December January,
so we're just picking it up. We placed nineteen wagons today,
we'll go back tomorrow. They'll be loaded overnight we'll pick
up nineteen tomorrow and we'll put another nineteen empty wagons

(03:03):
ready for the following day. So yeah, we're really great
to see the circuit of logs back on the rail networks.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Fantastic And did you have enough rolling stock and also
locomotives to be able to do it? Was it difficult
making the trains available?

Speaker 3 (03:17):
No, it wasn't. We were already running trains previously up
to Winston Polp so it was a case of just
putting those back into that work and we had some
wagons that we could repurpose and for the log traffic.
So yep, it was easy enough to do and really
pleased to kick things off today, which is great.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
From Kerry Rowl's point of view. How does this benefit
the region?

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Well? As Todd said, and working with Andy Watson who's
the mayor of the rung Atticking District Council, I guess
the shared concern was that the logging trucks going over
that Tai Happy Napier Road and looking further ahead to
sort of the autumn and winter next year, everybody knew
that that was just going to cut up the road's

(04:00):
even further. Even even the McCarthy's is the log transporter.
So yeah, it was really a great opportunity to get
round the table find out a solution between ourselves. You know,
McCarthy's tied at the port and install one. Get this
moving and look at what it's going to do. Is
a save a whole lot of maintenance for the district
council that they were very clear that they couldn't afford.

(04:23):
So I think it's a great outcome around us as
well as the public lest trucks up and down that road.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
Well done, gentlemen, on your creativity. Tod can I can
I ask you a question though I understand that wins
and Peters has been stiffing around the port that I
understand that wins and Peters believes it might be a
good place to put the inter Island. Can you confirm
or deny that?

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Oh, look, I think there's a little bit of a
misalignment of information there. I'm certainly not the interapp is
not considering taking the inter Isla and intern into the port.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Would certainly be you be interested in more freight traveling
between the islands coming through your port, Oh for sure.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
I mean have been quite vocal about our views on
what we think should be a solution for the inter
islander in Wellington. And there's a lot of cost associated
with the n inside infrastructure, and you've got to contain
a terminal site there that is well suited to the
earthquake conditions and a lot of work already been done
to it. So we think that actually overall a lot
of money could be saved for New Zealand if there

(05:20):
was some decisions made about the location of where the
winter roland a Fairy ultimately goes in Wellington?

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Is that true, Ellen, I mean, because that's the whole thing.
The kay Farla Farta Don in Wellington was actually quite
prone to the earthquakes. Is the container wharf a bit
more solid?

Speaker 3 (05:36):
Look, I'm no engineering expert. I guess what I would
say is I think the Minister of Finance and the
new Minister of Rail made that comment before Christmas. It
looked they're going to use the next two or three
months to really work that through and come up with
a decision later this year. So look, we just wait
for that decision process to go through and be made public.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
Well, both of you, gentlemen, have been fantastic company and
I thank you so much. For your time Today, from
Napier Port the chief executive Officer Todd Dawson, and from
Kiwi Round the executive General Manager of Freight Markets Alan Piper.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
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