Waikato regional economic profile - Waikato Regional Council

4.2.2 RailRail is an integral part of the regional transport network. There are 329 kilometres ofactive routes in the region, and a further 28 kilometres of inactive routes. 137 The activeroutes amount to 8.5 per cent of the national network 138 as illustrated in figure 53.The main rail routes include the North Island Main Trunk line which runs betweenAuckland and Wellington, and the East Coast Main Trunk line which runs fromHamilton to Tauranga and Kawerau through the Kaimai rail tunnel. These lines aresupported by a feeder network of 160 kilometres, including the: Kinleith branch, which provides access to the Kinleith pulp and paper mill inTokoroa Cambridge branch, which provides access to Fonterra’s Hautapu dairy factory Rotowaro branch, which links the North Island main trunk line with the Huntlycoal mines at Rotowaro Waitoa industrial line, which services Fonterra’s Waitoa dairy factory, and Putaruru to Rotorua line, currently disused, of which approximately 28kilometres is located within the region.Figure 53: Regional rail network 139In 2008, the Waikato region’s rail lines carried approximately 1,494 million gross tonnekilometres and 630 million net tonne kilometres of freight. Approximately 16 per cent ofNew Zealand’s rail freight traffic in net tonne kilometres, travelled on lines in theWaikato. 140 Approximately six million tonnes, nearly 45 per cent of the national total,originated in, had a destination in, or passed through the region, as illustrated in figure54. The principal flows of freight rail traffic on Waikato lines are:137King et al (2008, p. 3).138King et al (2008, p. 3).139Waikato Regional Council (2011k, p. 25).140King et al (2008, p. 6).Doc # 2069885 Page 49