| Rail transport in New Zealand | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Operation | |
| National railway | KiwiRail |
| Infrastructure company | New Zealand Railways Corporation (land) KiwiRail (track) Dunedin Railways Various heritage operators |
| Major operators | Auckland One Rail Great Journeys New Zealand Transdev Wellington Dunedin Railways |
| Statistics | |
| Ridership | 35 million a year[1] |
| Freight | 19m tonnes (2018–19)[2] 4.49m net tonne kilometres (2012–13)[3] 16% of total freight movements annually.[4] |
| System length | |
| Total | 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) |
| Double track | 1,332 km (828 mi)[5] |
| Electrified | 1,000 km (620 mi) |
| Freight only | 2,025 km (1,258 mi) |
| Track gauge | |
| Main | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
| 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | 4,128 km (2,565 mi) |
| Electrification | |
| Main | 25 kV ACoverhead lines |
| 25 kV AC | 488 km (303 mi) |
| 1500VDC | 101 km (63 mi) |
| Features | |
| No. tunnels | 150 |
| Tunnel length | 80 km (50 mi) |
| Longest tunnel | FreightKaimai Tunnel 9,025 m (29,610 ft) PassengerRimutaka Tunnel 8,930.25 m (29,298.7 ft) |
| No. bridges | 1,787 |
| Longest bridge | Freight Rakaia river bridge 1,743 m (5,719 ft) Passenger Waiau river bridge 930.25 m (3,052.0 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,600 m (5,200 ft) |
| at | Pokaka,North Island Main Trunk |
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Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part ofNew Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports,[5] with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually,[2] accounting for more than half of rail revenue.[6]
Rail transport played an important role in the opening up and development of the hinterland outside of New Zealand's predominantly dispersed and coastal settlements.[7] Starting with theFerrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built byprovincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport (such as Christchurch and its port atLyttelton Harbour). From the 1870s, the focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres, especially during theVogel Era of railway construction following the abolition of the provinces.Narrow gauge of3ft 6in (1,067mm) was adopted nationally.Bush tramways or light industrial railways sprang up connecting to the national network as it expanded. Railways became centrally controlled as a government department under the names New Zealand Government Railways orNew Zealand Railways Department (NZR), and land transport was heavily regulated from 1931 by theTransport Licensing Act 1931. NZR eventually expanded into other transport modes, especially with theRailways Road Services,inter-island ferries andRail Air service. NZR also had an extensive network of workshops. By 1981, NZR employed 22,000 staff.[8]
In the early 1980s, NZR was corporatised as theNew Zealand Railways Corporation and restructured,[8] especially following the deregulation of land transport in 1983. The Corporation became astate-owned enterprise (SOE) in 1987, required to run at a profit. In 1991, the rail, inter-island ferry and infrastructure businesses of the Railways Corporation were split off into a new SOE,New Zealand Rail Limited, which was in turn privatised in 1993, and renamed Tranz Rail in 1995. The parcels and bus service business units were also privatised, and the Railways Corporation continued to dispose of surplus land. The central government renationalised first the Auckland metro railway network in 2001, then the rest of the network in 2004, and finally the rail and ferry operations in 2008, creating another SOE,KiwiRail.[8]
Today, services are primarily provided byKiwiRail and focused on bulk freight, with a small number of tourist orientated passenger services, such as theTranzAlpine,Coastal Pacific andNorthern Explorer.Dunedin Railways also operate tourist trains out ofDunedin, and a number of heritage operators run charter specials from time to time. Urban passenger rail services exist only inAuckland andWellington. Rail in New Zealand has received significant and ongoing government investment since re-nationalisation in 2008, with the two urban rail systems being upgraded. In 2021, the government launched the New Zealand Rail Plan,[9] with funding for rail projects to come from National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), with KiwiRail remaining an SOE but paying Track User Charges (TUCs) to use the network.
Railway lines were initially constructed by theprovincial governments of New Zealand from 1863 onwards. New Zealand's first public railway was opened in that year, running the short distance between Christchurch and the wharf atFerrymead and built by theCanterbury Provincial Railways.[10] The Canterbury Provincial Railways were built to thebroad gauge of5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm). In February 1867,Southland Province opened a branch fromInvercargillto Bluff to the internationalstandard gauge of4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm).[11]
3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge (internationally known as narrow gauge) was chosen due to the need to cross mountainous terrain in the country's interior and the lower cost of construction.[12][13]
Due to multiplerail gauges being used by railways built by provincial governments, the prospect of a similarbreak of gauge problem toAustralia (where narrow, standard and broad gauge railways were built by different colonial governments) became a major political issue as the provincial railways expanded.[14] In 1867, the House of Representatives formed a select committee to investigate the issue, composed of members of parliament from all across New Zealand.[14][15] The select committee heard evidence from railway engineers who proposed a number of options, including building main trunk lines at standard gauge, while using narrow gauge for branch lines. Engineers cited the experience ofQueensland's railways, which had adopted narrow gauge in 1864. The select committee did not recommend making railway gauge uniform across the country, but did recommend narrow gauge if that were to happen, stating "narrow gauge appears calculated to carry all the traffic for many years, and would possess the advantage of greater cheapness in construction; for this reason railways of this character should be encouraged."[14]
By 1869, 78 kilometres (48 mi) of provincial railways were open, with another 30 kilometres (19 mi) under construction, mainly in Southland and Canterbury.[14] Parliamentary debate focused on the question of whether the provincial railways could keep their wider gauges, while narrow gauge railways were to be built. Member of the House of Representatives (MHR)James Crowe Richmond, who had worked on theGreat Western Railway and in railways in Belgium, became the most prominent advocate for a uniform narrow gauge nationwide.[14] In late 1869Francis Dillon Bell MHR andIssac Featherston MHR (also superintendent of theWellington Province) were in London to negotiate the retention of Imperial British forces then in New Zealand fighting theNew Zealand Wars. They were also tasked with investigating a uniform railway gauge for New Zealand.[14] In 1870,James Macandrew MHR called for another select committee to investigate the need for a law to require one uniform railway gauge for the entire colony.[14] Information from Featherston and Dillon Bell reached Wellington in August 1870, and the second select committee to investigate whether a law was required for gauge uniformity met from that month.[14] By majority the select committee reported back to the house in favour of narrow gauge being adopted as the uniform gauge nationwide, and allowing Canterbury Provincial Railways to continue to expand its broad-gauge network,[14] withdual-gauge track where narrow gauge met broad gauge.[16]William Sefton Moorhouse MHR, former superintendent ofCanterbury Province and advocate for broad gauge, andWilliam Rolleston MHR, at the time superintendent of Canterbury Province, were in the minority on the select committee opposing the legislation.[14] Despite this opposition, Parliament passed theRailways Act 1870 in September 1870, requiring all railways to be built or converted to narrow gauge, with an exemption of the Christchurch-Rakaia section of Canterbury Provincial Railways.[14][16] Sections of the Canterbury railway network were converted to dual-gauge, including Rakaia to Lyttelton, with new branch lines built to narrow gauge. By 1878, all of the broad gauge network had been converted to narrow gauge.[17]
From 1870, the central government of SirJulius Vogel proposed infrastructure including a national railway network to be funded by overseas loans of £10 million, under the guise of the "Great Public Works Policy".[18] Settlement and land sales to immigrants from Britain resulting from this infrastructure investment would pay for the scheme.[18] The first narrow-gauge line was opened on 1 January 1873 in theOtago Province, thePort Chalmers Branch under the auspices of the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company Limited. Auckland's first railway, betweenAuckland and Onehunga, opened in December 1873. Vogel also arranged forBrogdens of England to undertake several rail construction contracts, to be built by "Brogden's Navvies" recruited in England.[19]
Vogel's vision of a national network connecting major centres in New Zealand was never realised.[18] Despite the abolition of the provinces in 1876, parochial interests often overcame national interests, and the government approved and built many branch lines to lightly populated hinterlands,[20] instead of prioritising interprovincial main trunks.[18] As a result, a number of routes first proposed by Vogel in 1870 were still not complete by 1920.[21]
Bush tramways were usually privately ownedlight railways, usually for logging operations.[22] Usually built with light tracks and light-weight rolling stock, bush tramways were usually connected to the national railway network and were often moved as the forest was cleared. The last bush tramway for logging native bush closed in 1974.[22] Bush tramways should not be confused with urbanstreet-cars, known in New Zealand as trams. In the 20th century, New Zealand cities had extensive tram networks. Most of these networks closed mid-century, being replaced by buses. There are now proposals inAuckland andWellington for new light rail networks, New Zealand has norapid transit metros.
Following the abolition of the provinces in 1876, railway lines were controlled by the central government, originally under thePublic Works Department, and from 1880 under the New Zealand Railways Department. AMinister of Railways was responsible for the department and was a member of theNew Zealand Cabinet.[23]
A few private companies built railways in New Zealand, including theNew Zealand Midland Railway Company,Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company,Waimea Plains Railway, and Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company. Only the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company,nationalised in 1908, achieved any measure of success, with the rest being purchased by the Government before completion of their intended railway lines. One exception to this rule was theOhai Railway Board in Southland, which was owned by the State Mines department and a local county council until its dissolution in 1990.[24]
The first major route was completed betweenChristchurch andDunedin in 1878, later extended toInvercargill the following year. TheNorth Island Main Trunk, linking capital cityWellington with the largest cityAuckland, opened in 1908 after 23 years of construction. At the network's peak in 1952, about 100 branch lines were operating. Large-scale closures of branch railway lines began in the 1960s and 1970s. The network was initially protected from road transport competition under theTransport Licensing Act 1931, but this protection was gradually eased until its total abolition in 1983, along with the deregulation of the land transport industry.[25]
The networks of theNorth andSouth Islands were independent of one another until the introduction of the inter-islandroll-on roll-off rail ferry service in 1962 by the Railways Department, now branded TheInterislander.[26]
In 1982, the Railways Department wascorporatised into a new entity at the same time land transport was deregulated. The Railways Department became theNew Zealand Railways Corporation. The Corporation embarked on a major restructuring, laying off thousands of staff and cutting unprofitable services. After the 1983 land transport deregulation, there was a substantial rationalisation of freight facilities; many stations and smaller yards were closed and freight train services were sped up, increased in length and made heavier, with the removal of guard's vans in 1987 and the gradual elimination of older rolling stock, particularly four-wheeled wagons.[27]
In 1987, the Railways Corporation became astate-owned enterprise, required to make a profit. In 1990, the core rail operations of the Corporation were transferred to New Zealand Rail Limited, another state-owned enterprise, with the Corporation retaining non-core assets which were gradually disposed of, including a significant land portfolio. In many cases, the Corporation did not dispose of land due toTreaty of Waitangi claims and has continued to manage land.[28]
New Zealand Rail Limited was privatised in 1993. The company was sold for $328.3 million[29] to a consortium led by New Zealand merchant bankFay Richwhite and US regional railroadWisconsin Central Ltd. In 1995 the new owners adopted the nameTranz Rail and listed the company on theNew Zealand stock market andNASDAQ. Rail freight volumes increased between 1993 and 2000 from 8.5m net tonnes to 14.99m net tonnes carried annually, and then gradually fell until 2003 to 13.7m tonnes.[30] Freight volumes then increased again to 16.1m tonnes carried annually in 2012.[4]
Tranz Rail was accused of deliberately running down some lines through lack of maintenance. TheMidland line for example, which mostly carries coal from the West Coast to Lyttelton, was assessed to be in a safe but poor state by theLTSA government safety body in 2003, and has needed major repairs.[31]
Tranz Rail was accused of forcing freight onto the roads, and in 2002 introduced a containerisation scheme that assumed that most freight would be carried in containers on unit trains made up of fixedconsists of flat deck wagons. Container loading depots were constructed at the major freight terminals. One of the reasons often cited for these policies was that the cost of using road transport to Tranz Rail was less than that of using rail because the road infrastructure is provided as apublic good, whereas the rail network was aprivate good.[32]
The government purchased the Auckland metropolitan rail network from Tranz Rail for $81 million in 2002. Tranz Rail retained time slots for freight trains, and the Auckland Regional Council was granted slots for it to contract the operation of suburban passenger trains. Auckland railway stations not already local council-owned were transferred to Auckland Regional Transport Network Limited (ARTNL), owned by the Auckland territorial authorities, which was merged with theAuckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA), a subsidiary of the Auckland Regional Council (ARC).[33] With the creation of the "super-city"Auckland Council in 2010, ARTA was dissolved and its role was taken over byAuckland Transport, a newcouncil-controlled organisation.[34]
In 2003, the share price of Tranz Rail dropped to a record low on theNew Zealand sharemarket, dropping 88% in value in 12 months[35] as a result of its poor financial state and credit downgrading.[36] The government then considered various schemes for bailing it out in return for regaining control of the rail infrastructure. Cited reasons included a "level playing field" for freight movements on road and rail, and ensuring access to the tracks for all interested parties.[32]
Toll Holdings of Australia made a successful takeover bid for Tranz Rail, subject to an agreement to sell back the infrastructure to the government for $1. In exchange, Toll was granted exclusive use of the rail network subject to minimum freight and passenger volumes, payment of track access charges and its own investment in new rolling stock. This transaction took place in July 2004, and Tranz Rail was renamedToll New Zealand. The government committed $200 million of taxpayer funding for deferred maintenance and capital improvements via a new subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, ONTRACK. An interim agreement was signed by Toll NZ for track access; Toll paid a nominal track access charge while negotiating a final agreement with ONTRACK. These negotiations did not progress and eventually went to arbitration at the start of 2008.[37]
Instead of concluding a final track access agreement with Toll, in 2008 the government purchased the rail and ferry assets for $690 million, effective 1 July 2008.[38] The new organisation created to operate services on the rail network was namedKiwiRail.
Ownership of the national rail network is vested in KiwiRail Holdings Limited, with land owned by the New Zealand Railways Corporation. KiwiRail Network (formerly ONTRACK) is a division of KiwiRail that maintains and upgrades the rail infrastructure and is responsible for the control of the network (i.e. train control and signalling). Other rail operating companies using the rail network includeAuckland One Rail andTransdev Wellington, who operate suburban services inAuckland andWellington respectively, andDunedin Railways, who operate tourist trains out ofDunedin.
KiwiRail released in 2010 a 10-year turnaround plan for the rail industry. This was accompanied by significant government investment in KiwiRail of over $2.1 billion during the period 2008 to February 2017.[39] In May 2017, the government announced a further $450 million capital injection and that KiwiRail would be subject to a further significant review.[40] The plan has been significantly undermined by theChristchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, the2016 Kaikōura earthquake,Pike River Mine disaster, coal price collapse, coal minerSolid Energy going intovoluntary administration in 2016 and major motive power issues with the new DL class of locomotives. Nevertheless, significant improvements in freight volumes have followed (other than with coal).[41]
Two of KiwiRail's major customers,Mainfreight andFonterra, also invested heavily in rail-related infrastructure. Mainfreight allocated $60 million for investment in new railhead depots, while Fonterra invested $130m in a new rail hub complex in Hamilton and another planned forMosgiel.[42]
In 2019, the government began a "Future of Rail" review, and in December 2019 released a draft New Zealand Rail Plan, outlining changes to the rail transport industry.[43] The draft plan proposes a number of major changes, the most significant being future funding of the rail network through the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).[44]
The final plan was launched in April 2021,[9] confirming funding for rail projects from the NLTF, and the use of Track User Charges (TUCs) for users of the rail network, including KiwiRail.[9] Some specific projects were also outlined as possibilities:[45]
TheCity Rail Link is an underground rail line currently under construction linkingWaitematā railway station toMaungawhau railway station in Auckland and is due to open in 2026.
In December 2018, theGovernment of New Zealand committed funding to reintroducing a five-year trial rail service, namedTe Huia, betweenPapakura in southern Auckland to Hamilton, starting in 2020.[46] As a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, the Te Huia service had been delayed commencing operations to sometime after 3 August 2020, changed from its initial announced opening date of March 2020.[47][48] Advocacy group Greater Auckland proposed the Regional Rapid Rail initiative in 2017, including tilt trains with a maximum speed of 160 km/h.[49] This network would provide passenger services linkingAuckland withHamilton,Tauranga andRotorua.
In 2020, the government announced funding for a number of rail-related infrastructure projects, mainly in the Auckland region.[50]
A business case is progressing for abranch railway to be built from theNorth Auckland Line toNorthport atMarsden Point.
Freight is carried by KiwiRail and provides the majority of its revenue traffic. In the 2017–2018 financial year, freight contributed $350.7 million in revenue or 57% of the company's total revenue.[6] Freight is mostly bulk traffic geared towards export industries, with general freight being largely restricted tocontainerised and palletised products on the trunk route. Major bulk freight includes coal, lime, steel, wood and wood products, paper pulp, dry and liquid milk, cars, fertiliser, grain andshipping containers.[51]
Freight levels have returned to the level that they were at when the railway had a virtual monopoly on land transport, prior to 1983. In 1980 11.8 million tonnes of freight was moved by rail, in 1994 this had decreased to 9.4 million tonnes. By 1999, tonnes carried had increased to 12.9 million tonnes, slightly more than the 1975 peak.[52] In the 2006–2007 financial year, 13.7 million tonnes of freight were carried.[53] This equated to 3.96 million net tonne kilometres (or the number of tonnes of traffic gained in 2008–2009 compared to the amount of traffic hauled in the 2006–2007 year).[53]
In recent years, the amount of freight moved by rail has increased substantially and has started to gain market share in non-bulk areas as well. Freight on the North Island Main Trunk line between Auckland and Palmerston North saw an increase of 39% in freight volumes between 2006 and 2007. The five daily trains on the 667 km line reduced truck volumes on the route by around 120 per day.[54]
A 2008 study by the Ministry of Transport predicted that by 2031 rail freight volumes would increase to 23 million tonnes per annum or 70% on the 2006–2007 financial year. In 2018 the same report found freight levels had increased by 17% between 2007 and 2012.[53]
As of 2025, there are six long-distance passenger routes: theNorthern Explorer betweenAuckland andWellington, theTranzAlpine betweenChristchurch andGreymouth, theSoutherner between Christchurch andDunedin,Te Huia betweenHamilton and Auckland, theCoastal Pacific betweenPicton and Christchurch, and theCapital Connection between Wellington andPalmerston North. From 2026, a seventh service 'The Mainlander' will launch, operating between Christchurch andInvercargill.
Dunedin Railways operates tourist trains out ofDunedin, with frequent services on part of the formerOtago Central Railway line and occasional services north from Dunedin to Palmerston. This service was mothballed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,[55][56] but has since restarted with a reduced timetable.
Mixed trains were "once the backbone of the New Zealand railway passenger system" on branch and even main lines, but the last scheduled mixed train ran between Whangarei and Opua on 6 June 1977. With a "rake of assorted wagons" and one or two passenger carriages, often listed as "goods with car" in timetables, they were slow, often stopping and shunting wagons en route. In the 1930s they ran from Christchurch to Springfield on the Midland line, and into the 1950s overnight between Christchurch and Dunedin. On the North Island Main Trunk they ran during the day while the expresses ran at night. On the Okahukura-Stratford line they lasted to the early 1970s.[57]
In the 1950s and 1960s, most provincial routes had railcar and locomotive-hauled passenger services. In 1965, 25 million passengers travelled by rail; by 1998 the number had decreased to 11.7 million.[52] A number of services came to an end in the early 2000s, including theWaikato Connection between Hamilton and Auckland, theKaimai Express between Auckland and Tauranga, theGeyserland Express between Auckland and Rotorua, theBay Express between Wellington and Napier,the Southerner between Christchurch andInvercargill and theNortherner night service between Auckland and Wellington.[58]
Two further long distance scheduled passenger services, the Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific ended their services in December 2021.[59] On April 12, 2022, KiwiRail announced the return of the Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific services in September, alongside new multi day excursion trains at a later date.[60]
Horizons Regional Council's 2021-2031 Regional Land Transport Plan noted that KiwiRail is considering a "connector service" which would link the districts' populations to urban services. It also noted that rail service betweenWhanganui and Palmerston North could be established. The Plan proposes to replace the Capital Connection, a long-range commuter train, with a modern and larger train fleet that could operate at a higher frequency.[61]
Currently, Auckland and Wellington have suburban passenger services. In both cities, the respective local governments own the suburban passenger rolling stock and contract the operation of services to a third party. The Auckland commuter rail services are operated byAuckland One Rail and the Wellington commuter rail services are operated byTransdev, with KiwiRail the rail network infrastructure provider.[62]
The Wellington suburban network has five lines:Johnsonville,Kapiti,Melling,Hutt Valley andWairarapa. In 1938, Wellington became the second city (after the Christchurch service to Lyttelton) to have electric suburban trains, and from 1970 to 2014 was the only city with them.[63]
From July 2016, the services have been operated byTransdev Wellington.[62] Prior to Transdev, KiwiRail'sTranz Metro division held the contract. Wellington's suburban rolling stock consists ofelectric multiple units, with diesel locomotive-hauled carriage trains used on the Wairarapa service. All of the rolling stock (except the diesel locomotives) is owned by Greater Wellington Rail Limited, a subsidiary of Greater Wellington Regional Council. Transdev Wellington contracts KiwiRail to provide and operate the required diesel locomotives.[62]
Auckland's network consists of four lines:Southern,Eastern,Western andOnehunga. All services on these lines are provided byAM class electric trains, the conversion from diesel being completed by the end of 2015[64] with the exception of a then-non-electrified section of track between Papakura and Pukekohe, where a diesel train shuttle service operated. The Papakura to Pukekohe section was electrified in 2024 and reopened to the public in 2025.Auckland One Rail operates the electric trains on behalf ofAuckland Transport (AT). In recent years the mothballedOnehunga Branch was reopened (2010)[65] and a new line was built (Manukau Branch, opened April 2012).[66] Recent major projects includeelectrification of the Auckland suburban network and the building of theCity Rail Link. Most Auckland rolling stock is owned by AT, which funds and coordinates all services.[67]
Other cities (Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Napier-Hastings) once had suburban services, but they were withdrawn due to a lack of patronage. The Christchurch-Lyttelton suburban service was stopped in 1972 when passengers were down to "a busload". The last "boat train" for the ferry service to Wellington ran in 1976. The 10.5 km line to Lyttelton was electrified from 1929 to 1970. There were worker's trains north to Rangiora; two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Dunedin had suburban trains to Port Chalmers and Mosgiel, withdrawn on 3 December 1982. The Invercargill to Bluff service stopped in 1967; in 1929 the soleClayton steam railcar had been used. Trains ran the 12 miles (19 km) between Napier and Hastings but some were replaced by aNew Zealand Railways Road Services bus in 1926, and soon they ceased altogether.[68]
In 2017, the recently electedLabour-led Coalition government proposed to provide commuter rail in Christchurch and to provide long-distance commuter services from Auckland to Hamilton and Tauranga.[69]
Worker's concession tickets had been introduced in 1897, initially for the Wellington-Hutt service, and extended next year to Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin (and then between Westport and Waimangaroa). A 1979 NZR report "Time for Change" said that the Wellington suburban services revenue met only 26% of operating costs (Dunedin was 28%, Auckland 46%).[70]
In 2025,Mainland Rail acquired a fleet of formerAuckland Transport diesel multiple units, for use in Christchurch for special events toTe Kaha Stadium, with a planned launch for services in April 2026.
Up to the 1930s and 1940s, pupils had to commute to larger towns for secondary education from places that only had a primary school; for example from rural Canterbury toChristchurch Technical High School.[71] Another famous example was SirEdmund Hillary who commuted by school train fromTuakau toAuckland Grammar School for three and a half hours, a one-hour and 40 minutes journey each way.[72] School trains ran betweenPicton andBlenheim, allowing Picton students to attend Marlborough College (split intoMarlborough Boys' College andMarlborough Girls' College in 1963). The service was cancelled whenQueen Charlotte College opened in Picton in 1965, and those students remaining at the Marlborough Colleges switched to buses.[73][74]
The NZR offered season tickets for primary and secondary school students from 1877, using funds paid for out of the Education budget, and from 1885 for students attending primary schools from a place lacking a local school.[75]PremierRichard Seddon and theLiberal Government were keen to place secondary education "within the reach of the poorest man in the Colony" with an extension of the free passes in 1898 and 1909. School season passes increased from 8,720 in 1899 to 29,705 in 1914–15, when one in seven primary and secondary students travelled by train. Some pupils reached home after dark in the winter and had to milk cows before and after school.John Pascoe said that some children spend "up to six hours a day travelling." Boys and girls were usually segregated.[76]
The New Zealand rail network has around 4,128 kilometres (2,565 miles) of line,[77] of which about 506 kilometres (314 miles) iselectrified. At the network's peak in 1953, some 5,689 kilometres (3,535 miles) of line was open.[78] A 2009 study counted 1,787 bridges and 150 tunnels (totalling 80 kilometres (50 mi) in length) on the rail network,[79] but a 2011 study said there were 1,636 bridges, with a total length of 63.8 km (39.6 mi) and 145 tunnels, with a total length of 87.4 km (54.3 mi).[80] A 2021 Kiwirail report showed 106 tunnels and 1,344 bridges.[81] Difficult terrain meant that some lines took years to complete, and has necessitated a number of complicated engineering feats, notably theRaurimu Spiral andRimutaka Incline (the latter no longer in use).[82]
The network has been the subject of major upgrading works on a number of occasions. The biggest of these were theWestfield Deviation of theNorth Island Main Trunk from Auckland toWestfield Junction via Panmure and Glen Innes, opened 1930, theTawa Flat deviation in Wellington, opened 1937;[83] theRimutaka deviation to the Wairarapa, opened 1955;[82] and theKaimai deviation in the Bay of Plenty, opened 1978. All of these involved major tunnelling works, of close to 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) each in the two latter cases. Significant infrastructure improvements were also carried out on the North Island Main Trunk in the mid-1980s, some as part of the electrification scheme.[84]
As part of the 10-year Turnaround Plan announced in 2010, a number of regional lines were placed under threat of closure:[85] all lines inNorthland that form part of theNorth Auckland Line, theStratford–Okahukura line inTaranaki (mothballed since 2009), the northern portion of theWairarapa Line, the Gisborne – Napier section of thePalmerston North - Gisborne Line (mothballed due to storm damage north ofWairoa early 2012, mothballed Napier – Gisborne from October 2012)[86] As part of KiwiRail's 10-year long-term plan, most new capital will be spent on locomotives, wagons and the Auckland – Wellington – Christchurch freight corridor.[87]
Sixsignalling systems are used in New Zealand: automatic signalling rules (ASR),double line automatic (DLA), single line automatic (SLA),centralised traffic control (CTC),track warrant control (TWC), and station limits. Signals are of the colour light type and operate on speed signalling principles, i.e. signals tell the driver what speed they should proceed, but not necessarily the route they will take.[88] The Auckland suburban network is also equipped withEuropean Train Control System (ETCS) Level 1 signalling and train protection.[89]Signalboxes and signalling were supplied by McKenzie & Holland from their factory in Melbourne. The largest mechanical signal box in New Zealand was Frankton Junction, 85 miles south of Auckland, with 70 levers.
From its inception until the 1950s, steam locomotives were the main motive power on New Zealand's railways. Initially, steam locomotives were mostly imported from theUnited Kingdom from various manufacturers.[90] The first major class was theF class tank locomotives, of which 88 were imported. From the 1870s, locomotives were imported from the United States, and generally found to be better suited to New Zealand's conditions, although the pro-British public and politicians preferred locomotives from the United Kingdom.[90] In 1889, NZR began manufacturing its own locomotives, starting with theNZR W class.[90] Local engineering firmA&G Price also manufactured a significant number of steam locomotives for NZR.[91]
Dieselisation of rail transport began in the late 1940s with small shunting locomotives.[92] The first mainline diesel locomotives, theEnglish Electric DF class, were introduced in 1954, but it was not until the introduction of theDA class locomotives the following year that steam began to be seriously displaced in the North Island. The last steam locomotive to be built by NZR,JA 1274, was introduced into service in December 1956, and by 1967, steam had all but disappeared from the North Island. Steam remained in the South Island until November 1971, when the last seven JA locomotives that worked the Main South Line were withdrawn from revenue service, steam in the South Island having been displaced by theDJ class locomotive.[93]
Starting from the mid-1970s, the first generation diesel locomotives were withdrawn, being replaced by new locomotives, predominantly designs from North America. The General Electric manufacturedDX class were introduced from 1972 to 1975, and the original DF class were withdrawn and the General MotorsDF class introduced from 1979.[94] NZR also rebuilt some of theDG class locomotives. At the same time, the newest locomotives of theDA class were rebuilt asDC class locomotives in Australia and New Zealand. The last of the first-generation diesel locomotives were withdrawn in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[94]
Due to a decline in rail freight volumes following land transport deregulation in 1983, and the introduction of electrification on the North Island Main Trunk, no new mainline diesel locomotives were introduced in the 1990s.[95] Some second-hand locomotives were imported fromQueensland Rail in the mid-1990s and rebuilt asDQ class locomotives, most of these locomotives were then re-exported toTasRail, then part-owned by Tranz Rail. The first new diesel locomotives imported to New Zealand since the 1970s were theDL class locomotives from China, arriving from 2010 onwards.[96]
In the 1920s, two short sections of railway line were electrified at 1500 V DC: Arthur's Pass to Otira (electrified 1923) and Christchurch to Lyttelton (1929), both which have since been decommissioned.[97] Electrification of the Wellington suburban network at 1500 V DC began in 1938 with the Johnsonville Line, followed by the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) as far as Paekakariki in 1940, and the Hutt Valley lines in 1953–55. The NIMT electrification was extended to Paraparaumu in 1983 and to Waikanae in 2011.[97]
In 1988,25 kV AC electrification of theNorth Island Main Trunk (NIMT) between Palmerston North and Hamilton was commissioned, and a new generation of mainline electric locomotives, theEF class, was introduced.[98]
In 2014,electrification of Auckland's suburban rail network was completed, also built to 25 kV AC.
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TheNorwegian coupling, also called chopper coupler, was the standard coupler used in New Zealand for non-passenger rolling stock and locomotives until recent years. In the 1970s a large heavy-duty version of the chopper coupler was developed, initially for theDX class.[99] Auckland'sAM class and Wellington'sFP/FT class "Matangi" electric multiple units use theScharfenberg coupling.[100]
TheJanney ("Alliance") coupler was first used on heavy coal trains and has been progressively introduced on newer rolling stock and rebuilt locomotives. A program of retrofitting older rolling stock has been underway since 2013.[101]
The New Zealand Railways Department had major workshops atAddington (Christchurch),Easttown (Wanganui),Hillside (Dunedin),Petone (Lower Hutt, near Wellington) thenHutt (Lower Hutt, near Wellington) andNewmarket thenOtahuhu, (Auckland). All were progressively closed (mostly in the 1980s), leaving only Hutt Workshops still operating. A number of small maintenance depots also currently operate, for example at Addington, Christchurch.[102]
In 2019Hillside (Dunedin) which had been closed in 2012 was reopened.
Safety regulation is the responsibility of theNZ Transport Agency. NZTA also investigates accidents and incidents with a view to ensuring regulations and rules were observed.[103] TheTransport Accident Investigation Commissionmay also inquire into selected accidents and incidents to determine the circumstances and causes and help prevent similar occurrences in the future.[104]
Modern signalling, train detection and communications systems, as well as an overall decline in rail passenger traffic, has greatly decreased the number of fatal accidents occurring on New Zealand's railway network.[105]
New Zealand's most serious rail disaster occurred on Christmas Eve 1953, during the visit of QueenElizabeth II, when alahar washed away the bridge in theTangiwai disaster. 151 people died when the bridge collapsed as a Wellington-Auckland express passenger train was crossing it.[106] The next most serious accident was theHyde railway disaster of 1943, when the Cromwell–Dunedin express derailed after travelling at excessive speed. 21 people died. The driver was later found to have been intoxicated and was jailed for manslaughter.[106]
Four heritage rail operators own and operate their own carriage and mainline-certified steam or diesel locomotive fleets. These are theRailway Enthusiasts Society,Steam Incorporated,Mainline Steam Trust and theOtago Excursion Train Trust (Dunedin Railways). These groups have operated special excursion trains on the national network since 1978, and have been allowed to use suitable locomotives to haul these trains since 1985.[107]
About 60 groups operate railway heritage lines or museums, almost all members of theFederation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand. They include street tramways and bush tramways as well as railways. Large-scale rail preservation in New Zealand got underway in the 1960s when many steam locomotives were withdrawn and branch lines closed.[108][109]
Current operations of theheritage railway type include theKingston Flyer,Glenbrook Vintage Railway,Bush Tramway Club,Waitara Railway Preservation Society,Weka Pass Railway, andDunedin Railways. Dunedin Railways is aCouncil-controlled organisation (CCO) 72% owned by theDunedin City Council and runs theTaieri Gorge Limited which is 60 kilometres (37 mi) in length, and various other services around Dunedin and Otago.[56]
All other lines are operated by voluntary societies. The Weka Pass Railway at 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) is the most lengthy of these. TheBay of Islands Vintage Railway is 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) in length, but is in poor condition; having operated its first trains through Kawakawa since operations ceased in 2000 for two weeks from 3 July 2007, the Society is now working on rehabilitating the track between Kawakawa and Opua.[110]
New Zealand National Film Unit Film Director David Sims completed a number of films on the history of New Zealand railways,[111] including Main Trunk Century (2009); The Truth About Tangiwai (2002); Total Steam (1996); North Island Main Trunk (1995).[112]
In 2004–05Television New Zealand (through Jam Productions) broadcast "Off The Rails" a 12-part journey on the then current rail network from Invercargill to Northland presented byMarcus Lush.
The NZ Transport Agency has primary regulatory responsibility for rail safety in New Zealand... [t]he Rail Safety team also works closely with other agencies and regulators, including WorkSafe and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC).
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