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Last week well-known local cycling enthusiast Andrew Simms took out a half-page advertisement in the Otago Daily Times claiming the Taieri Gorge Railway was soaking up ratepayer dollars that could be put to good use elsewhere.
My immediate reply, in a letter to the editor, stated this was disingenuous demagoguery, factually incorrect and at odds with established economic theory.
The lure of the railway brings thousands of cruise passengers into Dunedin. Each one spends hundreds of dollars. These dollars go to local businesses. Employees and owners then spend in the wider economy. Tax is charged on income and transactions.
Ergo, whatever the DCC spends on Dunedin Railways is returned into the wider economy many-fold. Remove Dunedin Railways and we all suffer financially.
There is another aspect. Cycling.
I have never (nor will, ever) cycle a single long-distance track. I have, however, lived, studied and worked in the Netherlands for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s. I have cycled thousands more kilometres in my lifetime than the ubiquitous middle-aged man enthralled by the cycling bug, who waxes lyrically to anyone present about how cycling is a lifestyle choice that will save the world.
Well, for those of us living in the flat landscapes of the Netherlands or Denmark or London for that matter, that sustainable cycling lifestyle means commuting, a fact of life and a cheap $500 bike that lasts decades. It makes sense. It is an activity for everyone that is part of their lives.
Andrew Simms’ proposal is not the same. His ideas represent an exclusive, elitist alternative for a country that prides itself on egalitarianism.
This is deeply worrying. It is a wish-fulfilment fantasy for the self-selecting few at odds with all we hold dear, a fair chance in life, access for all and few restrictions on what we can and cannot do.
Let me explain why. I fractured my spine in 2003. This limits my mobility. While I can cycle home from the pub in Amsterdam or London at 2am, I cannot go tearing into Central Otago.
The elderly cannot do this either. Those with young children or little free time or ongoing commitments cannot use the proposal cycle trail. Those tourists I mentioned? Bringing in much needed income? They have a limited time in the city and cannot spend days cycling to access the countryside surrounding our city.
But we can all use the train.
Dunedin Railways and the Taieri Gorge Railway provide the many with an inclusive, democratic way to access the beautiful landscapes to the west of our city. It is supported by the majority of the residents of Dunedin. It is a core part of our city’s cultural identity.
No right-minded Dunedinite should be proposing its demise. We should embrace the line as part of who we are. The way forward is not closure so a few thousand people lucky enough to have the time, finances and inclination can cycle up towards Cromwell. The way forward is to gather all the experts and interested parties to propose a plan to preserve an institution that gives far more to the city than it receives.
Rather than Andrew Simms’ indifferent, elitist, and exclusive proposal catering to the few, we should embrace the core principles underpinning the railway’s future. We need to engage with the heritage and third sectors: across New Zealand there are thousands of potential volunteers who would happily come and spend a week or so helping maintain or work the line. These represent a cost-effective pool of willing and able labour, the enthusiast, the retired, the young doing their Hillary Duke of Edinburgh award. Many groups in New Zealand own old locomotives that need a home. What better home than over 60km of line in beautiful countryside? Then there is the potential economic future of Middlemarch — what better way to spend a weekend away than a scenic train journey and a country hotel? Indeed, what better way to start a week-long bike ride to Cromwell?
In short, the Taieri George Railway and Dunedin Railways can generate significant tourist income in Dunedin and its surroundings by becoming a proper and profitable community-led endeavour.
That is the genuine, democratic and sustainable promise the residents of this city deserve to continue our world-famous railway for future generations to enjoy.
■ Duncan Connors is a senior lecturer, DBA programme, at the Otago Business School.