Editing Transport in New Zealand (section)

==Rail transport==
[[File:Wellington Motorway.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wellington]] was for a long time the only city of New Zealand that retained a well-patronised [[commuter]] rail system. Only in the 2000s was there a (continuing) resurgence in [[Auckland]]'s commuter rail patronage, driven in great part by new investment in infrastructure.]]
{{Main|Rail transport in New Zealand}}

===Network===
There is a total of 3,898&nbsp;km of railway line in New Zealand, built to the [[narrow gauge railways|narrow gauge]] of {{RailGauge|1067mm}}. Of this, 506&nbsp;km is electrified. The national network's land is owned by [[New Zealand Railways Corporation]], and the network owner and major rail transport operator is the [[state-owned enterprise]] [[KiwiRail]]. The national network consists of three main trunk lines, seven secondary main lines and during its peak in the 1950s, around ninety branch lines. The majority of the latter are now closed. Most lines were constructed by government but a few were of private origin, later nationalised. In 1931, the [[Transport Licensing Act 1931|Transport Licensing Act]] was passed, protecting the railways from competition for fifty years. The Railways Corporation was created in 1983 from the [[New Zealand Railways Department]], and the land transport industry became fully deregulated in 1983.

Between 1982 and 1993 the rail industry underwent a major overhaul involving corporatisation, restructuring, downsizing, line and station closures and privatisation. In 1991 the Railways Corporation was split up, with New Zealand Rail Limited established to operate the rail and inter-island ferry services and own the rail network, with the parcels and bus services sold to private investors. The Railways Corporation continued to own the land underneath the rail network, as well as significant property holdings that were disposed of. In 1993 New Zealand Rail was itself privatised and was listed by its new owners in 1995, and renamed [[Tranz Rail]]. The government agreed to take over control of the national rail network back when [[Toll NZ]] purchased Tranz Rail in 2003, under the auspices of ONTRACK, a division of the Railways Corporation. In May 2008 the government agreed to buy Toll NZ's rail and ferry operations for $665&nbsp;million,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0805/S00053.htm|title=Rail buy back marks new sustainable transport era|date=5 May 2008|access-date=5 May 2008}}</ref> and renamed the operating company [[KiwiRail]].

===Operators and services===
Bulk freights dominate services, particularly coal, logs and wood products, milk and milk products, fertiliser, containers, steel and cars. Long distance passenger services are limited to three routes – the [[TranzAlpine]] (Christchurch – Greymouth), the [[Coastal Pacific]] (Christchurch – Picton) and the [[Northern Explorer]] (Wellington – Auckland). Urban rail services operate in Wellington and Auckland, and interurban services run between [[Palmerston North]] and Wellington (the [[Capital Connection]]), [[Masterton]] and Wellington (the [[Wairarapa Connection]]), and from April 2021 between Hamilton and Auckland (Te Huia).

For most of its history, New Zealand's rail services were operated by the [[New Zealand Railways Department|Railways Department]]. In 1982, the Department was corporatised as the New Zealand Railways Corporation. The Corporation was split in 1990 between a limited liability operating company, New Zealand Rail Limited, and the Corporation which retained a number of assets to be disposed. New Zealand Rail was privatised in 1993, and renamed [[Tranz Rail]] in 1995. In 2001, Tranz Rail's long-distance passenger operations, under the guise of [[Tranz Scenic]], became a separate company; Tranz Rail chose not to bid for the contract to run Auckland's rail services, and the contract was won by Connex (now [[Auckland One Rail]]). Proposals to sell Tranz Rail's Wellington passenger rail services, [[Tranz Metro]], did not come to fruition, although the division became a separate company in July 2003. In 2003, Tranz Rail was purchased by Australian freight firm Toll Holdings, which renamed the company [[Toll NZ]].

The only other significant non-heritage operator is the tourist oriented [[Dunedin Railways]] in [[Otago]], which runs regular passenger trains on part of the former [[Otago Central Railway]] and some on the [[Main South Line]]. On 20 April 2020 the company announced that due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], it mothballed its track and equipment.<ref name="futurestatement">{{cite web|url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2004/S00366/statement-on-the-future-of-dunedin-railways-limited.htm|title=Statement on the future of Dunedin Railways|date=20 April 2020|access-date=20 April 2020|publisher=[[Scoop.co.nz]]|author=Dunedin Railways}}</ref>

===Heritage===
{{main|Railway preservation in New Zealand}}
The [[Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand]] coordinates the work of approximately sixty heritage railways and rail museums. Most of these are operated by groups of volunteers and have a historical or tourist focus.