KiwiRail says the line that links Taranaki with the North Island main trunk line will remain mothballed for at least the next two years.
Services on the Stratford-Okahukura line have been suspended since November last year, when a derailment seriously damaged nearly 10 kilometres of track.
KiwiRail's chief executive, Jim Quinn, says that the company needs to act "in a commercial manner", and that despite working with the local community over the past six months, it has not been able to get enough freight to make the line viable.
If the company cannot find enough business to justify keeping the line open, Mr Quinn says, it will reconsider its options, including other uses for the land.
