September 2025 articles

In 2024, KiwiRail set an ambitious carbon emissions reduction target to reduce gross Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2035 against a 2018/19 baseline. This ambitious but feasible target supports Kiwirail’s long-term goal to be net zero carbon by 2050.

In 2020, Manawatū based Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA) launched a bold initiative to establish a nationally significant logistics cluster in the heart of the country. The aim: to develop a high-performing, intermodal freight and distribution hub that would boost productivity, strengthen resilience, and unlock the region’s potential. Today, Te Utanganui is a thriving cluster of coordinated investments, public-private partnerships, and national infrastructure that is shaping New Zealand’s economic future.

The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission is preparing a National Infrastructure Plan that lays out an approach for investment that can meet New Zealand’s long-term needs. In June we released a draft Plan for feedback. It focuses on four areas for improvement: securing affordable funding, streamlining delivery, prioritising maintenance, and sizing new investment realistically. Here, we take a closer look at land transport and invite those in the sector to test our findings against their own experience.

While some of the technology behind railway engineering and operations has been around for many years, the sector continues to evolve to address challenges including decarbonisation, digitisation, asset management and safety, and the risks of climate change.

John Gardiner, writing elsewhere in this issue, notes a number of key improvements in technology that continue to make rail competitive. Not far from home, there are other major technological changes that could also improve the service offered by rail.

The logistics sector has long balanced on the tightrope between rugged operational reality and fast-moving technological possibility. But in 2025, the signals are clear: successful logistics operators are turning to technology not just to keep up, but to get ahead.

TrackSAFE’s mission is simple: to prevent harm on the railway network. And yet, even after almost twenty years of awareness-raising, education, and advocacy, we still see the same behaviours putting people at risk; shortcutting across tracks, walking along railway tracks, jumping off railway bridges, and perhaps assuming trains can stop.

CILT International is pleased to announce the appointment of Ian Smith FCILT as its new Secretary General, effective July 2025. Ian brings a wealth of leadership experience from across the […]

On 6 August 2025, Minister of Transport Hon Christopher Bishop announced the next steps for transitioning all light vehicles from fuel excise duty (FED) to road user charges (RUC). This reform aims to create a fairer funding system for the land transport network, ensuring that all drivers contribute based on their road usage.

Be part of the CILT Annual Forum and Awards Dinner events to be inspired, build connections and be part of shaping what’s next. Happening in Wellington on Thursday 6 November 2025.