Kiwirail, the Government's transport operator, says it will
not be stepping in to buy the historic Kingston Flyer because
the business is not commercially viable.
Its owners have appealed to the Government to help save the
train, which is for sale after they defaulted on a $4.7
million loan from finance company Prudential Mortgage
Nominees.
Kingston Acquisitions Ltd director Robbie Caldwell said
unless a buyer could be found, the train would have to stop
indefinitely.
He said the Government should help save it as a historic
tourist attraction of national importance.
KiwiRail spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said Mr Caldwell approached
the Government-controlled organisation to buy the train and
tracks and put a proposal to KiwiRail about a month ago.
"We have a mandate from our shareholders to act in a
commercial manner and we don't see the proposal as consistent
with operating commercially," he said.
Mr Caldwell hopes to ask Prime Minister John Key for
Government backing when Mr Key visits Kingston next week.
He said the train was operating at a profit, but the
operators had got into financial difficulty because loans
made to Kingston Acquisitions had not been repaid.
Mr Caldwell took over the directorship of Kingston
Acquisitions from controversial developer Dan McEwen, who is
reported to owe creditors over $100 million.
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