Number 1000 of a build of 1350 rail wagons has rolled off the Hillside assembly line with the workshops being described a fantastic facility. Rail Minister Winston Peters announced on Tuesday the 1000th rail wagon had rolled out of Dunedin’s Hillside Workshops, saying it showed what happened when New Zealand backed practical industry, put rail assets to work and created jobs for New Zealanders. He said the wagon assembly programme began in March 2024 and was delivering 1350 modern wagons for KiwiRail’s freight network. The first 1000 wagons were now operating around New Zealand, moving freight and supporting exporters, importers, ports and regions. KiwiRail chief operations officer Duncan Roy said the construction had gone very well. The parts were assembled in Indonesia and then shipped to Hillside, where the wagons were put together. He said the timetable of the wagons was right on time. “It’s pretty impressive — really proud of their team. They started from scratch, and they built up to two wagons a day, really. So it’s really excellent, great work,” Mr Roy said. “So we’ve put them out across, right across the network, and across up into the North Island. These wagons are a better length for what our customers’ needs are.” The wagons led to less waste as they were sized to take one 40-foot container. “Good for us, good for the customer. The majority of the customers are operating 40-foot boxes. Sixty-foot wagons are now used for things such as timber and other big, more bulky freight. “We’re looking to align our rolling stock to better meet our customers’ needs, and Hillside had about 60 mechanical staff and about half of them were doing wagon assembly. “We employed people and have taught them to be assemblers, and they’re part of the team, so they’re going great guns.” He envisaged having all 1350 wagons done by June next year, the end of the financial year. Mr Roy was positive about Hillside’s future. “Hillside is a fantastic facility, and it’s part of our future. We’re just going to work out exactly what that looks like, and we’re working through those plans now. “It’d be premature to provide too much information at the moment. We’ve gone through our strategy, but it’s definitely a fantastic facility that will play a part in KiwiRail’s future.” He said there was a quiet nod at the workshops when the 1000th wagon was produced. Staff took a moment and then moved on to the next one. The 1000 wagons were made up about 16,000 tonnes of steel and materials, 4000 wheel sets and 40,000 bolts. More than 8000 quality assurance sheets had been written up around the completion of the wagons.
