Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 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, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, accounting for more than half of rail revenue.
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. Starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built by provincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport (such as Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton Harbour). From the 1870s, the focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres, especially during the Vogel era of railway construction following the abolition of the provinces. Narrow gauge of 3ft 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 or New Zealand Railways Department (NZR), and land transport was heavily regulated from 1931 by the Transport Licensing Act 1931. NZR eventually expanded into other transport modes, especially with the Railways Road Services, inter-island ferries and Rail Air service. NZR also had an extensive network of workshops. By 1981, NZR employed 22,000 staff.
In 1982, NZR was corporatised as the New Zealand Railways Corporation and restructured, especially following the deregulation of land transport in 1983. The Corporation became a state-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 a new SOE, KiwiRail.
Since 2008, services are primarily provided by KiwiRail and focused on bulk freight, with a small number of tourist orientated passenger services, such as the TranzAlpine, Coastal Pacific and Northern Explorer operated under the "Great Journeys" brand by KiwiRail. Urban passenger rail services exist only in Auckland and Greater Wellington and are operated under contract to Auckland Transport and Greater Wellington Regional Council by Auckland One Rail and Transdev Wellington respectively. Mainland Rail is planning a limited events only passenger service in Christchurch, while Dunedin Railways operates tourist trains out of Dunedin. A number of heritage operators run charter specials from time to time.
Rail in New Zealand has received significant and ongoing government investment since renationalisation in 2008, with the two urban rail systems being upgraded. In 2021, the government launched the New Zealand Rail Plan, 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.
History
Provincial period (1863–1876) Railway lines were initially constructed by the provincial 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 at Ferrymead and built by the Canterbury Provincial Railways. The Canterbury Provincial Railways were built to the broad gauge of . In February 1867, Southland Province opened a branch from Invercargill to Bluff to the international standard gauge of .
Gauge
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.
Due to multiple rail gauges being used by railways built by provincial governments, the prospect of a similar break of gauge problem to Australia (where narrow, standard and broad gauge railways were built by different colonial governments) became a major political issue as the provincial railways expanded. In 1867, the House of Representatives formed a select committee to investigate the issue, composed of members of parliament from all across New Zealand. 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 of Queensland'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."
By 1869, of provincial railways were open, with another under construction, mainly in Southland and Canterbury. 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 the Great Western Railway and in railways in Belgium, became the most prominent advocate for a uniform narrow gauge nationwide. In late 1869 Francis Dillon Bell MHR and Issac Featherston MHR (also superintendent of the Wellington Province) were in London to negotiate the retention of Imperial British forces then in New Zealand fighting the New Zealand Wars. They were also tasked with investigating a uniform railway gauge for New Zealand. 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. 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. 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, with dual-gauge track where narrow gauge met broad gauge. William Sefton Moorhouse MHR, former superintendent of Canterbury Province and advocate for broad gauge, and William Rolleston MHR, at the time superintendent of Canterbury Province, were in the minority on the select committee opposing the legislation. Despite this opposition, Parliament passed the Railways 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. 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.
Vogel era
From 1870, the central government of Sir Julius 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". Settlement and land sales to immigrants from Britain resulting from this infrastructure investment would pay for the scheme. The first narrow-gauge line was opened on 1 January 1873 in the Otago Province, the Port Chalmers Branch under the auspices of the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company Limited. Auckland's first railway, between Auckland and Onehunga, opened in December 1873. Vogel also arranged for Brogdens of England to undertake several rail construction contracts, to be built by "Brogden's Navvies" recruited in England.
Vogel's vision of a national network connecting major centres in New Zealand was never realised. 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, instead of prioritising interprovincial main trunks. As a result, a number of routes first proposed by Vogel in 1870 were still not complete by 1920.
Tramways and Bush tramways
Bush tramways were usually privately owned light railways, usually for logging operations. 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. Bush tramways should not be confused with urban street-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 in Auckland and Wellington for new light rail networks, New Zealand has no rapid transit metros.
Central Government control (1876–1982)
Following the abolition of the provinces in 1876, railway lines were controlled by the central government, originally under the Public Works Department, and from 1880 under the New Zealand Railways Department. A Minister of Railways was responsible for the department and was a member of the New Zealand Cabinet.
A few private companies built railways in New Zealand, including the New 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 the Ohai Railway Board in Southland, which was owned by the State Mines department and a local county council until its dissolution in 1990.
The first major route was completed between Christchurch and Dunedin in 1878, later extended to Invercargill the following year. The North Island Main Trunk, linking capital city Wellington with the largest city Auckland, 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 the Transport Licensing Act 1931, but this protection was gradually eased until its total abolition in 1983, along with the deregulation of the land transport industry.
The networks of the North and South Islands were independent of one another until the introduction of the inter-island roll-on roll-off rail ferry service in 1962 by the Railways Department, now branded the Interislander.
Corporatised ownership (1982–1993)
In 1982, the Railways Department was corporatised into a new entity at the same time land transport was deregulated. The Railways Department became the New 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.