History Rail transport in New Zealand

1 history

1.1 provincial period (1863-1876)
1.2 central government control (1876-1982)
1.3 corporatised ownership (1982-1993)
1.4 private ownership: tranz rail (1993-2004)

1.4.1 government purchase of auckland rail network


1.5 private , government ownership: toll , ontrack (2004-2008)
1.6 renationalisation (2008-current)

1.6.1 network ownership

history
provincial period (1863-1876)

the railway network constructed provincial governments of new zealand 1863 onwards. new zealand s first public railway opened in year, running short distance between christchurch , wharf @ ferrymead , built canterbury provincial railways. canterbury provincial railways built broad gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm).

in february 1867, southland province opened branch invercargill bluff international standard gauge of 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm).

from 1870, central government of sir julius vogel proposed infrastructure including railway development funded overseas loans of £10 million. central government adopted national gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). first narrow-gauge line opened on 1 january 1873 in otago province, port chalmers branch under auspices of dunedin , port chalmers railway company limited. auckland s first railway, between auckland , onehunga, opened in 1873. vogel arranged brogdens of england undertake several rail construction contracts, built brogden s navvies recruited in england.

central government control (1876-1982)

following abolition of provinces in 1876, railway lines controlled central government, under public works department, , 1880 under new zealand railways department. minister of railways responsible department, , member of new zealand cabinet.

a few private companies built railways in new zealand, including new zealand midland railway company, wellington , manawatu railway company, waimea plains railway, , thames valley , rotorua railway company. wellington , manawatu railway company, nationalised in 1908, achieved measure of success, rest being purchased government before completion of intended railway lines.

the first major route completed between christchurch , dunedin in 1878, later extended invercargill following year. north island main trunk, linking capital city wellington largest city auckland, opened in 1908 after 23 years of construction. @ network s peak in 1952, 100 branch lines operating. large-scale closures of branch railway lines began in 1960s , 1970s. network protected road transport competition under transport licensing act 1931, protection gradually eased until total abolition in 1983, along deregulation of land transport industry.

the networks of north , south islands independent of 1 until introduction of inter-island roll-on roll-off rail ferry service in 1962 railways department, branded interislander.

corporatised ownership (1982-1993)

in 1982, railways department corporatised new entity @ same time land transport deregulated. railways department became new zealand railways corporation. corporation embarked on major restructuring, laying off thousands of staff , cutting unprofitable services. after 1983 land transport deregulation there substantial rationalisation of freight facilities; many stations , smaller yards closed , freight train services sped up, increased in length , made heavier, removal of guard s vans in 1987 , gradual elimination of older rolling stock, particularly four-wheeled wagons.

in 1987 railways corporation became state-owned enterprise, required make profit. in 1990, core rail operations of corporation transferred new zealand rail limited, state owned enterprise, corporation retaining non-core assets gradually disposed of, apart significant land portfolio (due treaty of waitangi claims) continued manage. new zealand rail limited privatised in 1993.

private ownership: tranz rail (1993-2004)

privatised in 1993, in 1995 new owners adopted name tranz rail. rail freight volumes increased between 1993 , 2000 8.5m tonnes 14.99m tonnes carried annually, , gradually fell until 2003 13.7m tonnes.

tranz rail accused of deliberately running down lines through lack of maintenance. midland line example, carries coal west coast lyttelton, assessed in safe poor state ltsa government safety body in 2003, , has needed major repairs.

tranz rail accused of forcing freight onto roads, , in 2002 introduced containerisation scheme assumed freight carried in containers on unit trains made of fixed consists of flat deck wagons. container loading depots constructed @ major freight terminals. 1 of reasons cited these policies cost of using road transport tranz rail less of using rail, because road infrastructure provided public good, whereas rail network private good.

government purchase of auckland rail network

the government purchased auckland metropolitan rail network tranz rail $81 million in 2002. tranz rail retained time slots freight trains, , auckland regional council granted slots tender operation of suburban passenger trains. auckland railway stations not local council owned transferred auckland regional transport network limited (artnl), owned auckland territorial authorities, merged auckland regional transport authority (arta), subsidiary of auckland regional council (arc).

private , government ownership: toll , ontrack (2004-2008)

in 2003 share price of tranz rail dropped record low on new zealand sharemarket result of poor financial state , credit downgrading. government considered various schemes bailing out in return regaining control of rail infrastructure. cited reasons included level playing field freight movements on road , rail, , ensuring access tracks interested parties.

toll holdings of australia made successful takeover bid tranz rail, subject agreement sell infrastructure government $1. transaction took place in july 2004, , tranz rail renamed toll nz. government committed $200 million of taxpayer funding on deferred maintenance , capital improvements via new subsidiary of new zealand railways corporation, ontrack. ontrack negotiate rail access fees toll nz, these negotiations fell arbitration @ start of 2008.

renationalisation (2008-current)

in 2008 government purchased toll nz rail , ferry assets $690 million, effective 1 july 2008. name of new organisation created operate services on rail network kiwirail.

kiwirail released in 2010 10-year turnaround plan rail industry. has been accompanied significant government investment in kiwirail of on $2.1 billion during period 2008 february 2017. in may 2017, government announced further $450 million capital injection , kiwirail subject further significant review. plan has been undermined christchurch earthquakes of 2010 , 2011, 2016 kaikoura earthquake, pike river mine disaster, coal price collapse, solid energy going voluntary administration in 2016 , major motive power issues new dl class of locomotives. nevertheless, significant improvements in freight volumes have followed (other coal).

two of kiwirail s major customers, mainfreight , fonterra, invested heavily in rail-related infrastructure. mainfreight has allocated $60 million investment in new railhead depots, while fonterra has invested $130m new rail hub complex in hamilton , planned mosgiel.

network ownership

ownership of national rail network vested in kiwirail holdings limited, rail land owned new zealand railways corporation. kiwirail network (formerly ontrack) division of kiwirail maintains , upgrades rail infrastructure, , responsible control of network (i.e. train control , signalling). primary operator kiwirail, operates freight services (kiwirail freight) , long distance passenger services (kiwirail scenic journeys). other rail operating companies include transdev auckland , transdev wellington, operate suburban services in auckland , wellington respectively, , taieri gorge railway, operate tourist trains out of dunedin.