| Type | Part of state-owned enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport in New Zealand Ferry transport |
| Founded | 1962 (as a division of NZR) |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Area served | Cook Strait, New Zealand |
| Services | Inter-island ferries |
| Parent | KiwiRail |
| Divisions | Interislander (passenger) Interislander Freight (freight) |
| Website | www.interislander.co.nz |
The Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail.
The Interislander travels between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, forming a road and rail link between New Zealand's two main islands. Three roll-on roll-off vessels operate the 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) ferry route, taking three hours to complete the crossing.[1]
The service carries about one million passengers and 230,000 vehicles per year on 5,700 sailings.
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Before 1962, the North Island and South Island rail networks were separated from each other, and the New Zealand Railways Department struggled to compete with ships for inter-island transport. In the days before containerisation, rail freight between the islands had to be railed in a wagon to Wellington, unloaded and transferred onto a ship to Picton or Lyttelton, then loaded into another wagon before being railed the rest of the way. The Union Company did run overnight car and passenger ferry services between Lyttelton and Wellington using steamers.[2]
The Cook Strait Inter-Island Rail and Road Service (as it was known) started on 11 August 1962, with the roll-on roll-off ferry GMV Aramoana operating the journey between Wellington and Picton. The service dramatically increased efficiency - rail wagons could simply be shunted onto the ferry at Wellington, and shunted off again at Picton. This meant freight could stay in the same wagon the whole journey, reducing time and money. Aramoana took just 3 hours 20 minutes to cross the Cook Strait, dramatically decreasing time between the two islands for cars and passengers - Wellington to Christchurch travel time was reduced from 11 hours on the Union ferry to 9 hours by Railways ferry and road. The initial service was one sailing each way per day, travelling Wellington to Picton in the morning and Picton to Wellington in the afternoon.[2]
The service was an immediate success, although the service was criticised for its high prices. At NZ£9 10s one way for a family of four and a car up to 4.04 m[3] (equal to $363 in 2010 dollars,[4]) many people thought the service was overpriced for a Railways-operated service. However, there was a fine line to tread when it came to setting the price - too low, and shipping companies and airlines would claim unfair competition. Nevertheless, it was a cash cow for the Railways - in the 1963/64 financial year, the Cook Strait ferry service contributed £535,000 of the Railways' £538,500 working profit.[2]
The service soon expanded with the addition of the Aranui in 1966, the Arahanga in 1972, and the Aratika in 1974. In 1974, the Union Company withdrew its overnight steamers, making Railways' Cook Strait ferries the only passenger and road sea crossing between the North and South Islands. In 1982, the Arahura joined the fleet to replace the ageing Aramoana and Aranui. The faster Arahura also reduced the time across Cook Strait by 20 minutes to three hours.
When the New Zealand Railways Corporation (the successor to the Railways Department) was restructured in 1984, the service was renamed "SeaRail". In 1989, it was again renamed to Interisland Line, and the service became known as The Interislander. The fleet was upgraded with improved facilities and a new livery including Pelorus Jack.[5] In 1995, New Zealand Rail was privatised and became Tranz Rail. In 1999, Tranz Rail leased the Aratere, and between 1999 and 2001, disposed of the Arahanga and the Aratika.
In 2004, Toll NZ bought out Tranz Rail, and the Interisland Line was renamed to simply Interislander. Both of the existing ships were repainted to a new livery, with a fern replacing Perlous Jack on the funnel, while he moved to the hull with the logo. In 2005, Toll leased Challenge, which later in 2007 was renamed Kaitaki. The Kaitaki was the first Interislander ferry without a rail deck, and the first with a bow door (all the other ferries were stern boarding).
On 1 July 2008 the New Zealand Government purchased Toll NZ Ltd, including the Interislander, becoming part of KiwiRail.
The Lynx was Interislander's attempt at a fast ferry service across Cook Strait. Pressured by Christchurch businessman Brooke McKenzie and his ill-fated Sea Shuttles NZ fast ferry service, the Interisland Line chartered the HSC Condor 10 to operate a fast service called The Lynx across the strait for the 1994/95 summer. The "Vomit Comet", as it was dubbed, was an initial success, taking half the time of the regular Interislander ferries, Condor 10 returned to serve as The Lynx every summer until 1999, when it was replaced with the HSC Condor Vitesse for the 1999/2000 summer. A permanent year-round service was started in 2000 with HSC Normandie Express which was later replaced in 2003 by HSC Incat 046.
The Lynx was cancelled in 2005 due to large losses in operating the service. The fast ferries use copious amounts of fuel and their jet streams caused environmental damage. In 1994, speed restrictions were imposed in Wellington harbour to reduce wash and protect ships berthed at Aotea Quay, and in May 2000, an 18-knot speed limit was imposed on all ships in the Marlborough Sounds after residents complained of shoreline damage caused by the ferries. By 2002, The Lynx took 2 hours 15 minutes to complete its journey - only a 45 minute advantage over the Arahura and Aratere, which also had the added advantage of being able to operate in swells above The Lynx's limit of 4.0 metres, which were common in Cook Strait and frequently caused cancellations of services.[6]
The Interislander currently operates three roll-on roll-off ferries: MV Arahura, MV Aratere, and MV Kaitaki. Arahura and Aratere are rail/road/passenger ships, carrying rail wagons on the lower vehicle deck and road vehicles on the upper vehicle deck. Kaitaki does not have rail capacity, and carries road vehicles across two decks.
The ship names are all in Māori, and translate to "Pathway to dawn" (Arahura), "Quick path" (Aratere), and "Challenger" (Kaitaki).
| Image | Name | Built | Entered service | Capacity | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers | Road | Rail | |||||
| MV Arahura | 1982 | 1983 | 550 | 300 lane metres (124 cars) | 300 lane metres (60 wagons) | ||
| MV Aratere | 1998 | 1999 | 360 | 515 lane metres (130 cars) | 300 lane metres (60 wagons) | ||
| MV Kaitaki | 1994 | 2005 | 1650 | 1780 lane metres (600 cars) | none | built 1994 as Isle of Innisfree; chartered by Interislander in 2005 under the name Challenger; renamed Kaitaki 2007 | |
The Lynx: Various High Speed Craft (HSC) have operated under this marketing name (all road/passenger):