BLOOD ON THE TRACKS?

No. It will continue to be blood on the roads as big trucking rigs are both being given more mandates to occupy the roads and being driven on to them due to a lack of a viable alternative by the current government. Our previous government attempted to arrest this shift by investing in Kiwi Rail. The current government is subtly and continually putting into the public perception that rail is bad. Why? They came into power on a mandate of promising to make everything financially better 'for everyone' at a time of global economic crisis. Short term solutions support this mandate. Cutting back on 'bleeding' infrastructure like railway makes sense in the short term. In the long term though it is disastrous. If the current (and recently neglected networks) fall into disrepair or worse, are pulled out, rebuilding them will be completely beyond this country's capability.
New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world without a comprehensive rail system. OK, we do have some mountains but we are a long skinny country. How hard is it to have a main line with sensible feeders off that to get to most (if not all) of the important towns and cities?