Friday, 12 April 2013 15:59

First train arrives at Darfield

Written by 

A new rail link into Fonterra Darfield's site opened today and is expected to carry 200,000 metric tonnes of milk powder in its first year of operation.

 At the official opening, Fonterra director John Monaghan says is all about taking Canterbury's milk to the world.

"This new rail link connects Fonterra's Darfield's distribution centre to New Zealand's busiest rail line through to Lyttleton Ports of Christchurch. From there it's on to China, South East Asia and the Middle East," he says.

General manager logistics network development & design Andy Sanderson says rail connects Fonterra to New Zealand's key ports, from where products are exported to over 100 markets around the world.

"Fonterra Darfield is on track to produce 85,000 metric tonnes of milk powder for customers this season, and our new rail link will provide a safe, efficient connection to Lyttleton Ports of Christchurch," he said.

"There's also a benefit for local motorists, with a reduction in local truck movements. The train is expected to carry the freight of approximately 90 trucks every day when the second drier comes on line later this year.

"Rail also delivers environmental and financial benefits with fewer emissions and economies of scale that mean we drive better returns to our farmer-shareholders," Mr Sanderson said.

Key to the success of the project was the partnership between Fonterra, KiwiRail, our building contractors and the local community.

"The close working relationship has enabled the project to come in on time and on budget on a site that's also processing milk and building a second milk powder drier.

"It's a fantastic achievement and tribute to the hard work of everyone involved," said Mr Sanderson.

The site's second Distribution Centre has also been completed on schedule and progress on the site's second drier remains on track, with the first milk powder scheduled for late August.

Minister for the Environment and Selwyn MP Amy Adams was among the guests to arrive on the first train, with Minister Adams officially declaring the rail link open a short time later.

Fonterra Darfield rail link facts
- The new rail link measures 700 metres in length and connects the site's distribution centre to the main trunk line.
- There are three 620 metre rail sidings for loading containers.
- The container loading pavement area measures 22,000m2 – equal to 33 tennis courts.
With both driers running at capacity the rail link will save approximately 17,000 truck journeys per year, or 90 per day at the peak of the season.

More like this

Aussie farmers get A$8.60/kgMS as opening milk price

Australian dairy farmers supplying Fonterra are getting an opening weighted average milk price of A$8.60/kgMS for the new season or around NZ$9.26/kgMS -  NZ74c less than New Zealand suppliers, based on the current exchange rate.

Featured

LIC Space folds for good

Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

National

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

Machinery & Products

Shearing legend hooked on CanAm

Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs…

50 years of tractor pull

This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling…

The Wrangler's birthday bash

It's the Wrangler Limited’s 30th birthday and to celebrate the milestone a prototype of the E Series Wrangler - a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Free speech

OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter