Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 2:24 pm
Trains running between Picton and Christchurch are now
using a new stretch of rail track that bypasses the oldest
tunnel on the line, bringing greater resilience to the key
freight and tourism corridor.
Rail track and sleepers
are removed from Tar Barrel Tunnel, before it is filled with
mudstone and permanently sealed off
KiwiRail, working
with Waka Kotahi NZTA, has built one kilometre of new track
and a new road overpass for State Highway One just south of
Ward in Marlborough to bypass the 108-year-old Tar Barrel
Tunnel.
KiwiRail’s Group Chief Executive Greg Miller
says the work has strengthened the key freight route used to