Expansion of toll services impresses mayor

Palmerston North Mayor, Jono Naylor, says there’s no greater time to appreciate the importance of rail to Palmerston North than in its centenary year.


Jono Naylor and CEO, Paddy Clifford, were recently briefed by Toll New Zealand’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Sue Foley, about the expansion of Toll’s services in Palmerston North and plans to celebrate the centenary of the completion of the North Island main trunk line.


“Because of our strategic location, rail plays an important part in the life of our city. Toll employs more than 200 people here in Palmerston North including 50 train drivers,” Jono Naylor says.


“Our city has become a strategic hub for many businesses in the lower North Island. Toll provides an overnight, next day delivery service from warehouse to distribution centre and regards Palmerston North as a key growth area.”


The development of rail in the city has seen an increase locally in freight tonnage of more than 30 percent in the last 12 months.


“That’s great for the local enonomy. Every wagon on the rail represents one less truck on our national highways. That means less frustration for the motorist, fewer road accidents, less wear and tear on New Zealand’s main roads, less energy consumption and lower levels of greenhouse gasses.”


In figures released by Toll New Zealand, five trains travel the 667 kilometres of track from Auckland to Wellington via Palmerston North daily. That’s more than 120 wagons carrying a total payload of more than 3,000 tonnes of freight.


More importantly Toll says 120 trucks a day are not clogging up the main highway between Auckland and Wellington.


Jono Naylor was pleased to receive the assurance from Toll that the Overlander from Wellington to Auckland is here to stay. The express runs daily from November to April and then three days a week from May through to November.


Corporate Affairs General Manager, Sue Foley, has reaffirmed that “Toll has made a decision to keep it.”


The cuisine is being upgraded by New Zealand chefs, Logan and Brown, to prove a kiwi experience.


The Capital Connection, the daily return service from Palmerston North to Wellington, is also being refurbished with improved food to “offer a better experience.”


“The most effective way we can protect Toll services in Palmerston North and the job opportunities it provides is to use the service, especially in its centenary year,” Jono Naylor says.