KiwiRail remains a State-Owned Enterprise

KiwiRail has welcomed the announcement by Shareholding Ministers and the Minister of Transport confirming their decision for KiwiRail Holdings Limited and the New Zealand Railways Corporation to remain State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), following a review of its entity form.

 “State-Owned Enterprises are about successful business operations, being a good employer, and exhibiting a sense of social responsibility in the communities we serve, and we are pleased to continue this work at KiwiRail,” says KiwiRail Chair David McLean.

 “KiwiRail’s functions are important for New Zealand – and operating a successful business means we can stand on our own two feet and deliver for our customers.

 “The Government’s commitments support this, with shareholder equity to procure new rolling stock, ferries and other commercial assets to improve our performance for customers and enable our commercial functions to grow and be self-sustaining.

 “KiwiRail operates in competitive markets with other freight, ferry and tourism operators, and being a State-Owned Enterprise enables us to provide efficient services while extending our funding options through commercial financing.

 “We also own and maintain the national rail network in the interest of all New Zealanders and for all rail users – the metropolitan operations in Auckland and Wellington, rail tourism operators, and future users yet to come. We are now integrated into the land transport funding system to fund rail like roads.

 “We are proud to operate Te Huia and Capital Connection for regional councils, as passenger rail is in our DNA. We sense increasing demand for rail as a public transport option. As we did with Te Huia, we remain available to assist councils working to consider potential passenger rail public transport services.”

New Zealand Railways Corporation holds the rail land which KiwiRail, as owner of the rail network infrastructure, leases for the benefit of the rail system.

 “Retaining NZRC as a State-Owned Enterprise enables consistency in its corporate accountability structures with other state-owned companies,” says NZRC Chair David McLean.

KiwiRail by the numbers:

  • Network: Maintains 3700 kilometres of track, including six million sleepers, 3100 signals, 1344 bridges and 106 tunnels, to deliver a resilient and reliable national network for all rail users. This activity is fully funded by the Government and does not make a profit.
  • Freight: KiwiRail moves around 18 million tonnes of freight each year, amounting to 4.1 billion net-tonne kilometres or 13% of total freight net-tonne kilometres. Every tonne moved by rail emits 70% fewer emissions than by road.
  • Interislander: Operates 12 daily sailings on the Cook Strait per day at peak, with 2737 sailings in 2021/22.
  • Commuter: Operates New Zealand’s two inter-regional commuter rail services and manages the metropolitan rail networks to support millions of passengers in Auckland and Wellington each year.
  • Property: Manages more than 18,000 hectares of land, owns more than 900 buildings, and manages more than 10,000 leases, licenses and grants.
  • Tourism: Offers rail tourism experiences between Auckland and Wellington, Picton and Christchurch, and Christchurch and Greymouth.
  • Commercial: In 2021/22, KiwiRail’s commercial functions earned $669.5 million and spent $535.6 million to deliver those services, generating an operating surplus of $133.9 million to fund core capital expenditure.