KiwiRail

KiwiRail Holdings Limited
Type State-Owned Enterprise
Industry Rail transport
Predecessor Toll NZ
Founded July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01)
Headquarters Wellington, New Zealand
Area served New Zealand
Key people John Spencer (Chairman)
Brian Corban (Deputy Chair),
Jim Quinn (CEO)
Services Rail freight
Long-distance passenger rail
Urban passenger rail
Inter-island ferries
Revenue $667,378 million (FY June 2011)[1]
Operating income $100,330 million (FY June 2011)[1]
Profit $34,118 million (FY June 2011)[1]
Parent New Zealand Railways Corporation
Divisions
Subsidiaries KiwiRail Finance Ltd
KiwiRail Ltd
Website www.kiwirail.co.nz

KiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman. Tranz Scenic, Tranz Metro, Interisland Line and Hillside Engineering are all subsidiaries of KiwiRail.

Contents

History

KiwiRail was created from a number of entities that date back to the 19th century. Prior to KiwiRail, rail transport in New Zealand has been under both public and private ownership. Government operators included New Zealand Railways Department (1873–1981), the New Zealand Railways Corporation (1981–1990), New Zealand Rail Limited (1990–1995), Tranz Rail (1995–2003) and Toll Rail (2004–2008).

KiwiRail's South Island operations were disrupted by the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, but KiwiRail also participated in disaster relief efforts.[2] Their operations were once again disrupted by the large 2011 aftershock, resulting in the cancellation of the TranzAlpine and TranzCoastal passenger trains until at least March 1.[3]

Turn-around plan

In the 2010 Budget KiwiRail received a capital injection of $250 million, and a further $500 million in principle to make it sustainable within a decade. Prime Minister John Key and Minister of Transport Steven Joyce said the injection was part of a $4.6 billion turnaround plan for KiwiRail "designed to see the rail freight become sustainable within a decade by getting it to a point where its costs are funded solely from customer revenue." The $4.6 billion would come from business itself.[4]

KiwiRail describes its turnaround plan as reflecting "the need to create a viable and efficient rail industry capable of meeting its share of freight traffic projected to grow by at least 75 percent by 2031."[5]

The plan aims to increase rail traffic volumes and revenue, increase productivity, modernise assets and separate out the commercial elements of the business from the non-commercial.[5]

The plan includes five major points:[5]

Two of KiwiRail's major customers, Mainfreight and Fonterra, are investing heavily in rail-related infrastructure. Mainfreight has allocated $60 million for investment in new railhead depots, while Fonterra has invested $130 million in a new rail hub complex in Hamilton and another in Mosgiel.[7]

Proposed split

In 2011, KiwiRail proposed splitting its land and rail corridor assets from its rail operation assets.[8]

Operations

Current track

KiwiRail operates on some 3,898 (km) or 2,422 (mi) of track, of which around 500 km (300 mi) is electrified.

Freight

KiwiRail hauls many different commodities, most notably coal and milk, as well as intermodal freight.

One of KiwiRail's major operations is on the Midland line, where unit trains of up to 30 wagons transport coal from the West Coast to Lyttelton.

Passenger

Tranz Metro is the Wellington suburban operation of KiwiRail. In 2011 the assets of Tranz Metro (totaling $107,541 million) were transferred from KiwiRail to Greater Wellington Regional Council subsidiary Greater Wellington Rail Limited.[1]

Auckland suburban trains are operated by Veolia Transport, a separate company.

Tranz Scenic is the long-distance passenger transport subsidiary of KiwiRail, operating the Capital Connection, Overlander, TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific.

Rolling stock

KiwiRail uses a variety of different locomotives, including those for shunting and specific trains used for coal and other transport modes.

Yards and facilities

Some of the more prominent rail facilities used by KiwiRail include:

Engineering

KiwiRail operates two major engineering facilities:

Corporate governance

Executive Board
John Spencer Chairman
Paula Rebstock Deputy Chair
Dr Kevin Thompson Director
Robert Field Director
Rebecca Thomas Director
Mark Tume Director
John Leuchars Director
Executive Team
Jim Quinn Chief Executive
Rick van Barneveld GM, KiwiRail Network
Thomas Davis GM, Interislander
Iain Hill GM, KiwiRail Freight
Dr Deborah Hume GM, KiwiRail Passenger
Lloyd Major GM, KiwiRail Mechanical
Nicola Brown GM, Human Resources
Karen Paterson GM, Legal and Governance
Graeme Docherty Chief Information Officer
David Walsh Chief Financial Officer

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "KiwiRail on track with 29% increase in operating surplus". KiwiRail. 29 August 2011. http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=97&cntnt01origid=15&cntnt01returnid=58. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
  2. ^ "Railway Gazette: KiwiRail recovers from earthquake". http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/kiwirail-recovers-from-earthquake.html. Retrieved 2010-09-13. 
  3. ^ http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=62&cntnt01dateformat=%25d%20-%20%25m%20-%20%25Y&cntnt01returnid=108
  4. ^ Tracy Watkins (18 May 2010). "KiwiRail gets $250m initial boost". The Dominion Post. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/politics/3709667/KiwiRail-gets-250m-initial-boost. 
  5. ^ a b c "Overview of KiwiRail's turnaround plan". KiwiRail. 5 May 2010. http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/uploads/Publications%20and%20Reports/Overview%20of%20KiwiRails%20Turn-around%20plan.pdf. Retrieved 6 August 2010. 
  6. ^ "KiwiRail Orders Another 20 Chinese Locomotives". Otago Daily Times. 20 July 2011. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/169995/kiwirail-orders-another-20-chinese-locomotives. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
  7. ^ "KiwiRail survival plan is on track". The Dominion Post. 25 September 2010. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/4166684/KiwiRail-survival-plan-is-on-track. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 
  8. ^ "No ulterior motive to sell off land or business says KiwiRail". Radio New Zealand. 31 October 2011. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/89663/no-ulterior-motive-to-sell-off-land-or-business-says-kiwirail. 

External links

KiwiRail

KiwiRail subsidiaries

Articles about KiwiRail