The return of Hillside Workshops is a statement of the government’s “belief in the city of Dunedin”, deputy prime minister Winston Peters says.
The refurbished South Dunedin railway workshops, which were first constructed in the 1870s, were officially reopened yesterday. KiwiRail had closed the facility more than a decade ago.
Mr Peters told media yesterday the reopening of the workshops was a “tremendous day” for Dunedin, the city’s workforce and the South Island.
“What you’re seeing here will be here for the next 50 years.
“It’s very wise expenditure and it’s a statement about our belief in the South Island, and our belief in the city of Dunedin.”
In a statement, KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said more than 400 new rail wagons had been assembled at the site so far.
Most locals knew someone or had a family member who had worked there, he said.
“With significant government investment, an ageing 19th-century rail plant has been transformed into a modern 21st-century one, which is allowing us to better deliver for our freight customers and grow rail in the South Island and the rest of New Zealand.”
The redevelopment was funded with nearly $20 million from the government’s former Provincial Growth Fund in 2019, $85m from the 2021 Budget to fund upgrades and wagon assembly, and $23m from wider government investment to replace ageing locomotives and wagons.
It included a multi-purpose 5500sqm workshop with 21 workstations, cranes and jacks able to lift 120tonnes and an improved rail yard layout, which uses fully electric shunt engines to move rolling stock.
One of the original buildings from the 1870s had been restored and earthquake-strengthened to be used for parts storage.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones held up a red wrench as he addressed a crowd gathered inside the refurbished workshops.
The workforce’s skillset was “what New Zealand needs”.
He called on workers to “keep loosening the bolts, the screws and the things that hold us back from doing the right thing in the future”.
The ministers were greeted at the KiwiRail site by a group of about 30 protesters advocating on causes including pay equity, transgender rights, climate change and the war in Gaza.
Police were forced to intervene as some protesters attempted to block Mr Peters’ departing car.
