History of New Zealand Rail
Before New Zealand's railway network was developed in the late 19th century, overland travel was difficult. Transport by sea was often easier and as a result most early colonial settlements were established along the coast. |
|
|
From the first private 'railway' in 1862 to the electrification of the North Island Main Trunk in the 1980s, New Zealand's railways were developed over more than 100 years to the rail network we have today. |
|
|
The New Zealand rail system grew from separate beginnings made by individual provinces or entrepreneurs from the 1860s onwards. Colonial Treasurer and later Premier Sir Julius Vogel made rail a major plank in his programme to develop the colony in 1870. By 1880 New Zealand Railways (NZR) was operating more than 1,900 kilometres of track, and carrying almost 3 million passengers and 830,000 tonnes of freight a year. The first half of the twentieth century was a ‘golden age’ for rail. The first half of the 20th century is often celebrated as the heyday or golden age of rail. The railway was a familiar part of daily life for many New Zealanders and the local railway station served as a vital community hub. For much of the twentieth century, most long distance freight in New Zealand was moved by rail and there were restrictions on the distance that goods could be hauled by road. In 1983 the Transport Amendment Act began the deregulation of the road transport industry, which had a profound effect on rail freight's income. In 1990, New Zealand Rail Ltd was incorporated as a limited liability compafny wholly owned by the Government and in September 1993 was sold to Tranz Rail Holdings. In 1996 Tranz Rail Ltd was listed on the New Zealand stock exchange. Tranz Rail’s growing financial problems led it to sell the Auckland rail network to the Crown in 2002. The following year Toll Holdings bought Tranz Rail and then reached an agreement for the Government to buy back for $1, and operate, the network infrastructure. This was vested in the New Zealand Railways Corporation or ONTRACK. There are a number of websites and books available where you can find out more about New Zealand's rail history. |
|
|
|