The Otago Daily Times has obtained emails from Akorn Cruises listing an array of complaints about Pounamu Tourism Group, which helps run the Taieri Gorge rail tours.
Pounamu, which operates the Sir Edmund Hillary Rail & Coach Tours, made public yesterday its plans to take over the operation of the tours for Dunedin Railways.
It said yesterday it had submitted a proposal to the city council, with plans to make a return on funding and no losses going forward for the council.
The email obtained by the ODT from a senior executive at Akorn Cruises to staff at Royal Caribbean Cruises and its subsidiary Celebrity Edge questions Pounamu’s suitability as an operator.
"Given the significant and ongoing challenges with Pounamu, we hope the council consider transferring the management to another operator."
The email outlined a range of concerns.
"I need to raise ongoing and significant issues concerning the Taieri Gorge Train operation in Dunedin, which is causing repeated challenges to the guest experience and operational efficiency.
"Unfortunately, Pounamu Tourism’s approach has resulted in recurring problems."
Among the complaints listed included "lateness and incorrect booking times/changes", "poor communication and incorrect information" and "pricing complaints".
It also expressed concerns about operator reliability because of the company’s allegedly poor handling of departure schedules, including last-minute changes that were based on incorrect assumptions, causing widespread disruption.
The company’s financial stability also appeared "questionable", the email alleged, and instances of overcharging indicated a general lack of control.
Pounamu Tourism Group managing director Paul Jackson was surprised by the communications.
"Akorn and Pounamu have a very good relationship and are both puzzled by these questions working their way into the media space.
"We have regular internal client/customer post-tour debriefs in which we look to refine and improve the way we do things. Like many organisations this is a common process for best practice. Perhaps you have stumbled on internal critique/review documents."
Mr Jackson said Dunedin Railways was ultimately responsible for train scheduling in conjunction with the network line access manager at KiwiRail. Negotiating other traffic on the main line — such as freight shunts at Port Chalmers — sometimes resulted in delays.
Asked about the pricing concerns, he said: "Cruise ships themselves understandably prefer that there are no direct sales, especially sales at cheaper rates, as this creates comparison between on-board prices and direct prices.
"The compromise was to run two separate trains in Dunedin, one with Port collection sold on board at more expensive rates via the cruise ship and one without Port collection sold directly at lower prices by Pounamu."
Dunedin City Holdings Ltd chairman Tim Loan said he had received no correspondence from any cruise operators and had not been advised by the council that it had received anything either.
"However, the council are the ones looking at options around the future of Dunedin Railways Ltd [DRL] as part of their nine-year plan and I know that they are wanting the best outcome for the community in relation to the Taieri Gorge operation.
"As I’ve indicated, we are supporting the council with that. DRL have made significant improvements to the product they’re offering with the extension of the service through to Pukerangi and changes to their food offering.
"They are committed to continuing to improve their product offering going forward and providing the best product they can for the local community and our visitors, including those coming via the cruise channel."
Councillors will soon consider significant investment in the council’s railway assets.
Pounamu, if chosen by the council, would in effect subsidise Dunedin Railways by rerouting its Sir Edmund Hillary Rail & Coach Tours to include three days of charters, being Invercargill to Dunedin, Dunedin to Pukerangi/Middlemarch and Dunedin to Oamaru/Timaru, and would commit to 190 charters a year — one every second day.
