KIWIRAIL has announced a new weekday rail service between auckland and Christchurch to help New Zealand (NZ) businesses dealing with disrupted ports and shipping lines, reports Scoop Media.
The NZ Connect service will boost capacity and connections for moving domestic freight between the North and South Islands in time for peak season.
'We are heading into the country's busiest period for freight, from October through to March, a time when businesses look to restock ahead of Christmas and New Year when demand for products increases and exports rise,' said KiwiRail Group CEO Greg Miller.
'Many businesses are still feeling the ongoing impacts of Covid on the global supply chain and experiencing delays on imported goods. Shipping lines continue to struggle to offer certainty of capacity and delivery for the movement of freight between the islands,' said Mr Miller.
'KiwiRail has identified this gap in the market so it's stepping up to relieve some of these pressures by offering a faster and more certain domestic service than currently is available from shipping lines alone,' said Mr Miller.
'From early October, NZ Connect departed Auckland daily Monday to Friday and connect with our Interislander ferries before continuing to Christchurch,' said Mr Miller.
'Using 60-foot wagons it will provide up to 300 TEU of additional weekly capacity, alongside the weekly services we already offer,' said Mr Miller.
'This new service is part of our commitment to keep New Zealand moving, as we are during Alert Level 4, running freight trains across the country to keep New Zealand businesses and families supplied,' said Mr Miller.
'Congestion in New Zealand's supply route between Auckland and Christchurch will continue for the foreseeable future until global shipping capacity and reliability return. In the meantime our teams are working hard for our customers.' said Mr Miller.
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The NZ Connect service will boost capacity and connections for moving domestic freight between the North and South Islands in time for peak season.
'We are heading into the country's busiest period for freight, from October through to March, a time when businesses look to restock ahead of Christmas and New Year when demand for products increases and exports rise,' said KiwiRail Group CEO Greg Miller.
'Many businesses are still feeling the ongoing impacts of Covid on the global supply chain and experiencing delays on imported goods. Shipping lines continue to struggle to offer certainty of capacity and delivery for the movement of freight between the islands,' said Mr Miller.
'KiwiRail has identified this gap in the market so it's stepping up to relieve some of these pressures by offering a faster and more certain domestic service than currently is available from shipping lines alone,' said Mr Miller.
'From early October, NZ Connect departed Auckland daily Monday to Friday and connect with our Interislander ferries before continuing to Christchurch,' said Mr Miller.
'Using 60-foot wagons it will provide up to 300 TEU of additional weekly capacity, alongside the weekly services we already offer,' said Mr Miller.
'This new service is part of our commitment to keep New Zealand moving, as we are during Alert Level 4, running freight trains across the country to keep New Zealand businesses and families supplied,' said Mr Miller.
'Congestion in New Zealand's supply route between Auckland and Christchurch will continue for the foreseeable future until global shipping capacity and reliability return. In the meantime our teams are working hard for our customers.' said Mr Miller.
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