A petition has been delivered to Parliament calling for new trains and wagons to be made in New Zealand rather than bought from overseas. It was signed by 13,854 people.
Forty-four redundancies have been announced at KiwiRail's Hillside workshop in Dunedin and another 30 or so are at risk at the Lower Hutt workshop after KiwiRail decided not to build the rolling stock here.
The petition was presented to Dunedin South MP Clare Curran at Parliament on Tuesday by employees at the workshops.
KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn says building in New Zealand is not an option because it would cost 25% more than buying from overseas.
