Rail & Ferry

Sarin Hotels and Easy By West Ferries have won awards at the 2degrees Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards on Friday.

Fullers360 chief executive Mike Horne has welcomed Waka Kotahi’s decision to continue the ferry service’s exempt status regarding fare pricing.

The Te Huia passenger train between Hamilton and Auckland will run additional weekday and weekend services from February next year.

New ferry operator Island Direct will launch its service between Auckland city and Waiheke Island on 13 November 2023.

Rail networks in Auckland and Wellington will be closed over Labour Weekend to enable KiwiRail to conduct line works.

The SOE’s scenic train operations saw revenue jump more than 600% in FY23.

Fullers360 is adding a new service to Waiheke Island from November that will complement its current sailings over the summer.

A joint effort between The Otago Excursion Train Trust (OETT) and Auckland-based Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) aims to save the Taieri Gorge Railway and its operator, Dunedin Railways.

Great Journeys New Zealand has restarted the Coastal Pacific train that runs along the South Island’s east coast.

Explore Group has launched sailings to Auckland’s Rotoroa Island.

Ferry and tourism operator Explore Group will take over Auckland’s Bayswater and Birkenhead / Te Onewa Northcote Point ferry routes from 1 October 2023.

Fullers360 is raising wages for its deckhands and skippers in the second pay increases this year.

KiwiRail has made four improvements to its track evaluation car (TEC) procedures to ensure further disruptions to its network are avoided.

Passenger numbers on the Te Huia train between Hamilton and Auckland hit a high in August despite major disruptions to the service in July.

Trains delivered more than 173,000 patrons travelling to FIFA Women’s World Cup games in Auckland and Wellington, demonstrating the benefits of commuter rail, according to the government.

Fullers360 is making further cuts to its Auckland Transport services for up to 18 months as it doubles down on staff training programme.

The company’s international patronage will be back to pre-Covid levels by October, says Souter Holdings Fullers.

The ferry operator’s boss says it has “doubled down” on maintenance to ensure a strong-looking summer ahead is not plagued by problems.

KiwiRail’s TranzAlpine scenic train is putting on a special journey to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a crucial tunnel link between the West Coast and the South Island.

KiwiRail and Waikato Regional Council will mark Te Huia’s return to central Auckland with free tickets for a week.

The Waikato Chamber of Commerce has asked WorkSafe to investigate the reasons why Waka Kotahi has banned the Te Huia passenger train from entering Auckland’s metro rail network.

The Te Huia passenger train between Hamilton and Auckland has been banned from entering the city’s metro network, and will instead stop at Papakura rather than its usual termination point at The Strand in Parnell.

A new memorial at Ongarue in the Manawatu district has been unveiled to mark 100 years since the derailment of a train that killed 17 people and seriously injured 28 others.

A passenger rail service between Auckland and Wellington could potentially undermine KiwiRail’s Northern Explorer scenic train, according to feedback in a report from the Transport and Infrastructure Committee.

Auckland Transport says it will introduce a hybrid-electric ferry on its Devonport services from 2026.

KiwiRail plans to sell its Valentine ferry to free up funding and crew for further passenger and freight ferries.

KiwiRail’s Great Journeys New Zealand has added new rail-based tourism packages to its TranzAlpine experience to encourage visitors to explore the West Coast.

Te Puia’s NZMACI receives nearly $6m and the Major Events Fund almost $18m.

An investigation into a power outage on Interislander’s Kaitaki ferry on 28 January 2023 has found that KiwiRail did not correctly follow its own equipment replacement processes.

An inquiry on the future of inter-regional passenger rail has attracted more than 1,000 written submissions from members of the public since it began in August last year.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has warned of growing climate change risk to New Zealand’s rail infrastructure following a derailment.

Disruption to KiwiRail’s Wellington network and services such as the Northern Explorer due to a faulty track evaluation car could be over by the end of the week.

Scenic train journeys on the Northern Explorer will be slower on trips between Wellington and Auckland from today.

KiwiRail has been fined $350,000 and ordered to pay $30,000 in reparations after a worker was injured on an Interislander ferry.

Fullers360 has welcomed the government’s move to improve residency pathways for skippers and deck hands under the transport sector agreement.

The transport sector agreement is being extended to help ferry businesses access workers.

The Kaitaki ferry will be back in full service tomorrow, Wednesday 12 April, after being out of service since 4 March due to a gearbox issue. 

The Commerce Commission is launching an investigation into Interislander and StraitNZ, the owner of Bluebridge, about the ongoing ferry delays and cancellations.

Fullers360 is urging people travelling to and from Waiheke Island over the Easter break to plan ahead and travel during off peak times.

Fullers360 is reducing fares from Auckland to Waiheke Island during off-peak hours, in a move its chief executive says will make a positive difference to passengers, tourism operators and Waiheke Island business owners.

KiwiRail’s Interislander says almost all passengers with bookings during Easter will be able cross the Cook Strait.

Mayor Nadine Taylor and Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair Daran Ponter have jointly written to Transport Minister Michael Wood, expressing concerns about the lack of support for ships in the Cook Strait.

Auckland Light Rail is encouraging the public to have a say about what key destinations could be included on the 24-kilometre indicative route between the airport and central city.

KiwiRail’s tourist trains generated $9.3m in revenue for the half year to December 2022, up from the $1.8m reported for the previous Covid-impacted corresponding period.

A “perfect storm” of ferry maintenance work and breakdowns have caused accommodation shortages and heartache for travellers looking to cross the Cook Strait.

To mark International Women’s Day this week, the Ticker is publishing a series of articles from women leaders in tourism and will look at the state of equality in the sector.

The Interislander ferry Kaitaki will resume passenger services tomorrow following the go-ahead from independent assessors and Maritime New Zealand.

The Dunedin City Council is exploring new ways to revitalise Dunedin Railways Limited and the Taieri Gorge train service.

The Cook Strait operators are accused of flouting compensation rules but they may not have to meet the same standard as airlines.

Work on Auckland’s light rail project has begun this week, with the first of 30 bore holes being drilled in Sandringham.