Reinstatement Proposal
In August 2006 a proposal was made to reinstate the first 4.5 km of the branch. Weston is under consideration as the location for a cement works, and if chosen, the harbour in either Timaru or Port Chalmers would be used for export purposes. The company intending to establish the cement works, Holcim, has stated a strong preference to use rail transport between the cement works and harbour and thus would seek to restore the line to Weston. The rail corridor is still owned by ONTRACK and the proposal would involve the operation of at least two trains each way daily. However, the rail corridor is designated as "closed" in the Waitaki District Council's district plan. ONTRACK asserts this is a clerical error and has filed with the Environment Court in September 2007 to have the status corrected so that the railway can be reinstated. The Waiareka Valley Preservation Society (WVPS), whose existence is premised upon opposition to Holcim's proposal, has challenged ONTRACK and filed with the Environment Court to have the railway's reinstatement declared to be in contravention of the Resource Management Act. If the railway cannot be reinstated it may jeopardise the Holcim proposal as access to rail transport is crucial to transport the cement. On 2 November 2007 the case went before the Environment Court, and Judge Jeff Smith and commissioner Sheila Watson reserved their decision and the matter may not be resolved before Christmas 2007. The Commissioners granted a consent for the cement works on 11 February 2008, but this was challenged by the WVPS, who sub sequentially won an appeal in the Environment Court, requiring the re-opening of the branch line to be notified. As of December 2009 the cement works project remains under consideration. A decision on the cement works proposal is expected to occur in August or September 2010. If the project goes ahead, a sand quarry will be established at Windsor, directly adjacent to the old Tokarahi Branch, with access along the old railway formation. There will also be an opencast coal mine at Ngapara, while the cement works and limestone quarry will be built close to the former Taylors limeworks at Cormacks
Read more about this topic: Ngapara And Tokarahi Branches