The Kingston Flyer steams towards Kingston in February.
Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
The owner of the 125-year-old Kingston Flyer is appealing
to the Government to step in and save the historic steam train.
Kingston Acquisitions Ltd put the train up for sale in
November, after the company defaulted on its $4.7 million
loan from financier Prudential Mortgage Nominees.
Kingston Acquisitions director Robbie Caldwell said the
Kingston railway was the only part of the New Zealand rail
infrastructure in private ownership.
Several other preserved railways are operated by societies
and trusts.
The then Labour Government bought back Toll NZ's rail and
ferry business for $665 million, after several months of
negotiations in May 2008.
"We would welcome the Government . . . with open arms," Mr
Caldwell said.
He hoped to meet Prime Minister John Key and understood he
would be in Kingston next week, to explore a link to
Queenstown as part of the $50 million New Zealand Cycleway
Project he and the Government are promoting.
The Ministry of Transport did not respond to questions
yesterday.
Mr Caldwell said other attempts to the sell the train and
associated businesses had failed.
Prudential had vetoed two offers from a US-based boutique
train operator Railmark Holdings Inc this year.
Railmark had offered $2.5 million for the train and track in
February, with a view to expanding the business.
Prudential was unwilling to allow the company to sell its
assets for less than the debt amount.
"We had a white knight willing to come in and operate the
train in Kingston, retaining all 20 staff. To me, it was a
fair offer, but we had to say no," Mr Caldwell said.
The company's other Kingston land, excluding the track land
had been valued at $3.2 million.
Mr Caldwell's brother Ian and associate Phil Kerr operate the
train and the Kingston Inn, as Kingston Flyer Steam Train Ltd
and Kingston Village Inn Ltd.
The businesses were operating at a profit but the loan made
to Kingston Acquisitions several years ago had not been
repaid.
The train company's investors were determined to make sure it
had a future, Mr Caldwell said.
There was not enough money to operate the train for the
coming tourist season, despite group bookings confirmed two
years in advance.
The train was likely to "rust" if investment was not
forthcoming, he said.
Selling the train was the only way to keep it going.
"If it doesn't operate this year, it would take a lot of time
and money to get it up and running again," he said.
The Kingston Flyer has operated twice-daily 14km trips
between Kingston and Fairlight, from October 1 to April 30.
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