KiwiRail operating earnings start to improve as Picton-Christchurch rail link reopens

KiwiRail operating earnings start to improve as Picton-Christchurch rail link reopens
Pattrick Smellie
By Pattrick Smellie Feb. 20 (BusinessDesk) - State-owned KiwiRail reported a 7 percent improvement in operating earnings in the six month to Dec. 31, at $16.3 million, reflecting a 30 percent lift in the value of domestic freight carried on its network caused in large part by the reopening of the Christchurch to Picton rail link, which was destroyed by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Total revenue for the half year was up 12 percent at $328.8 million, compared with the same period a year earlier. As is always the case with KiwiRail, the...