5 Mar 2014

Rail supplier 'in breach of contract'

11:24 am on 5 March 2014

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says Chinese suppliers who provided locomotives sprayed with asbestos are in breach of some aspects of their contract.

KiwiRail pulled all 40 engines out of service on 27 February after it discovered the highly toxic material had been sprayed on parts of the locomotives.

So far, 33 have been tested and preliminary results from 11 have come back clear.

Mr Brownlee told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme he had spoken with KiwiRail representatives to make sure they find out how things really are, and to see how they are going to deal with suppliers who are clearly in breach of some parts of the contract.