‘Game changer’: Ashburton’s new freight hub to move trucks off highway
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The new Fairfield Freight Hub has been described as a "game changer" for Mid Canterbury, which will help shift trucks off the busy highway and keep Ashburton moving.
Minister of Transport Simeon Brown attended the official opening of the hub on Friday, although it has been operational since April 8.
Wareing Group director Mark Wareing said the hub will streamline freight volumes in and out of Mid Canterbury and reduce the impact of trucks on roads.
“It’s setting the region up for a lower carbon future and the location near the Northpark Industrial Park is ideally located to take advantage of this new hub.
“Helping exporters and freight partners move more freight by rail makes sense both from a business and sustainability perspective and will help stabilise the supply chain issues our clients and their customers are facing.”
Wareing worked with Talley’s to secure the existing rail siding site at the former freezing works site for the hub, but he has always credited former Rangitata MP Jo Luxton for her assistance in getting the project across the line.
The hub development cost $18 million, with a $2.5m contribution from the Government’s NZ Upgrade Programme and $2.3m from the Ashburton District Council.
It’s a project Ashburton mayor Neil Brown has been looking forward to for a long time.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for over six years, right from when I got the first phone call from Mark asking for assistance in getting the rail yard moved from the centre of Ashburton.
“Mark had the vision to get trucks off our congested state highway and put the containers that transport the goods onto rail.”
The hub will have several benefits for Mid Canterbury, Brown said.
“Significantly reducing shunting in the centre of town means locals aren’t stuck at level crossings anymore while wagons are connected or disconnected.
“It’s been a great collaboration and will be an asset for our district.”
Quigley feeds director Andrew Quigley described the hub as a “game changer for exporters in Mid Canterbury” who will be able to get direct access to ports via rail.
Since the project planning began, the Wareing Group took over running the shunting yard in central Ashburton and increased the volume from 2,000 containers per year to almost 6000.
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said working with the Wareing Group to move operations to Fairfield will increase the amount of local freight carried by rail from 6,000 to 20,000 containers a year.
“That’s half a million tonnes of freight off the region’s roads – the equivalent of 40,000 truck movements – which helps manage road maintenance costs.
“And given rail offers 70% fewer emissions compared to heavy road freight, it’s a substantial reduction in transport emissions.
“Inter-modal hubs like the Fairfield Freight Hub make use of both road and rail transport – enabling trucks to complete the first and last mile of collection and delivery, and for rail to do the heavy longer-distance movements.”
While it was built to get more trucks off-road, the hub has been called into action to help put more trucks on the road due to the flood-damaged rail bridge over the Rangitata River.
With all train movements over the bridge being suspended, the hub has been utilised to keep rail freight moving between Invercargill and Christchurch.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.6% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
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