South Waikato District Council and RJ Lincoln were pleased to host Members of Parliament the Honourable Simon Bridges and the Honourable Louise Upston for a brief update at the Tokoroa Road Rail Terminal on Friday 8 April.
"The benefits of the terminal that is fast putting Tokoroa on the map as an inland port are already being seen with a reduction of truck congestion in Tauranga," said Gavin O'Donoghue, Manager of RJ Lincoln. "Further developments are in the pipeline to even further grow this initiative."
The new terminal has seen around 2,000 containers through the line since it started operating six months ago; removing 380,000 kilometres of truck movements from the roads. It has created two additional full time jobs and 12 casual jobs.
Local MP the Honourable Louise Upston is a strong supporter of the initiative having opened the terminal in September last year. RJ Lincoln and partners appreciated the opportunity to speak direct with the Minister of Transport on paving a smoother way forward for more public-private partnerships to develop and become successful.
"I can see that this inter-model approach has huge benefits going forward," said the Honourable Simon Bridges, New Zealand's Transport Minister. "The volume of cargo being moved by rail is increasing and it is important that government looks at further opportunities to integrate road and rail while retaining a focus on the specific economic and commercial drivers."
"Our central position and strong road and rail links continues to be a significant economic driver to do business in the South Waikato, from the South Waikato," said Mayor Neil Sinclair.
The Road Rail Terminal is a public private-partnership between RJ Lincoln, South Waikato District Council, Kiwirail and the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Ends: words: 285
