The issue has been contentious between the rail operator and the city council.
In November 2024, KiwiRail threatened to close a 1.5km stretch of the Heathcote Expressway, saying it was unsafe, unless the council spent $7.2m upgrading the Scruttons Rd level crossing.
Public backlash and pressure from local and central government politicians eventually led KiwiRail to back down on the closure.
Council staff and KiwiRail began discussions in January last year to find a way forward and avoid the significant upgrade costs.
A council spokesperson said staff are also working on options to reduce the need for some level crossing upgrades. These will be presented to councillors in the coming months.
At the Draft Annual Plan meeting two weeks ago, Linwood Ward councillor Yani Johanson proposed removing the $6.3m budgeted for safety upgrades near the Scruttons Rd crossing.
However, the proposed amendment was not legally allowed to proceed.
City council finance committee chair Sam MacDonald said although the city council should not pay high costs for the upgrades, for legal liability reasons Scruttons Rd and other railway safety upgrades have to stay scheduled in the budget.
“The amount of money is just eye-watering and way over the top for what is needed. We just can’t afford it as a city,” he said.
“We’ve got the money budgeted, but it’s more in the later years.”
MacDonald said the city council was trying to avoid subsidising upgrades to KiwiRail’s rail lines.
KiwiRail project delivery general manager Daniel Headifen said there have been regular discussions with city council staff about how to safely manage level crossings affected by new cycleways and development.
“We are currently working with the council to develop minimum safe viable solutions for the crossings, to help manage scope and overall cost.”
Headifen said the city council and KiwiRail are developing a priority list so the highest-risk crossings are addressed first.
Scruttons Rd became the focal point of the dispute because of the threatened expressway closure and its high projected upgrade cost.
Although a cycleway runs alongside the Scruttons Rd level crossing, it does not cross it.
KiwiRail’s safety assessment states the crossing poses a risk of serious injury or death once every 1003 years.
MacDonald said keeping the funding in the budget was crucial to limit legal exposure if a serious incident occurred.
“If something goes wrong and someone is killed at that crossing, and the council has looked like it has somehow contributed to that, it’s our chief executive who effectively gets charged,” he said.
“If you keep the money on budget for the later years, there’s an intent to do things while we come up with a compromise position.”
The Scruttons Rd upgrade remains the top priority. The city council is awaiting final costings, which are expected to be “significantly lower” than the earlier $6.3m to $7.2m estimate, the city council spokesperson said.
Next on the list are level crossing safety upgrades at Radcliffe Rd and Parker St.
In total, about $50m is budgeted for projects involving level crossings, although this figure also includes wider works in areas surrounding some crossings.
- HAVE YOUR SAY Should ratepayers cover the costs of rail crossing upgrades? Email your views in 200 words or less to barry@alliedmedia.co.nz
