Winston’s great rail solution is now revealed: it’s just like KiwiRail’s iReX but cheaper.  

The boats are still big and they’re rail enabled but the portside infrastructure is more reasonable.  

And that’s always been the thing. The original boats were a good deal, but the kicker came portside.  

KiwiRail was under the belief that the project had to be future proofed.  

This was something that had to last 50 years - a type of thinking that New Zealand hasn’t done often.  

So, the Ferrari was not the boat, it was the ports. 

Now Winston says Picton needs a big revamp. But the earthquake prone Wellington port just needs a revamp. 

In an ideal world this is not ideal. But it is, as Winston says, pragmatic. 

I know people involved with the original iReX deal on the Government side.  

And when this story first broke, they told me that KiwiRail shouldn’t come to the Government expecting an open cheque book.  

And he was right. The original iReX deal was a good deal, and the one that we should aspire to. 

But as the Government keeps telling us, now is not the right time for aspirational long-term planning.  

But if not now, when will we ever do anything right first time?

And while this deal looks like a saving short term, will we end out paying more long term?

The upshot is that we have ferries coming and they’re less likely to sink than the ones we already have. That’s about it - we’re right back to where we were 30 years ago.  

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