Sailing times changed

Sailing times for up to 10,000 summer holiday travellers are being changed because of Cook Strait ferry cancellations. This follows a series of mechanical breakdowns on the Interislander ships. In one case, travellers on the evening ferry on January 20 have been shifted to an afternoon sailing. KiwiRail said this is because the ferry Kaiarahi needs its gearbox repaired, which will not happen till later next year. It had booked 10,500 people on Kaiarahi for December and January, hoping to get the ferry back in service earlier, but now cannot. It has still not finalised when the Kaiarahi will be back on deck.