Media Release

Solid Energy suspends coal trains from West Coast to Lyttelton until later this week

Export coal trains from the West Coast to the Port of Lyttelton have been suspended by coal producer and distributer Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd due to operational difficulties at both the company's Stockton aerial ropeway and at the Port of Lyttelton.

A main cable on the aerial ropeway, used to transport coal from the Stockton Opencast Mine down to the Ngakawau rail handling facility, broke on Saturday evening. Solid Energy expects that the ropeway will be repaired by tomorrow, Wednesday, 4 September.

Following the breakdown of the aerial ropeway Solid Energy diverted coal trains to the company's Rapahoe depot, near Greymouth. However a coal discharge hopper at the Port of Lyttelton failed yesterday afternoon and it is estimated that it will not be operational until Friday, 6 September.

As a result the company has had to suspend all rail movements of coal from the West Coast to Lyttelton until later this week.