KiwiRail: A sustainable and logical transport choice for New Zealand

Transport is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in New Zealand and presents a significant opportunity for emissions reduction. Transport contributes 18 per cent of gross emissions, primarily through burning fossil fuels such as diesel and petrol. New Zealand’s second Emissions Reduction Plan, released in December 2024, acknowledges the need to reduce transport emissions to meet New Zealand’s overall emissions reduction target as well as supporting New Zealand in its quest to become net zero carbon by 2050.

While both the Government and the public rightly have high expectations that rail will play an important role in New Zealand’s carbon reduction efforts, our customers are also looking to KiwiRail to help them meet their own sustainability targets through providing a lower-emissions transport option in their supply chain.

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

Moreover, KiwiRail enables around 25 million low-carbon passenger trips each year in Wellington and Auckland by providing the metro network on which the commuter services run.

Alongside our rail freight services, this means fewer trucks and cars on the roads, contributing to less congestion and air pollutants, lower road maintenance costs for tax and rate payers, and fewer road accidents. Rail also saves 410,000 tonnes of GHG emissions per year[1]. These benefits are quantified in the Benefit of Rail (2024) report published by the Australasian Railway Association.

KiwiRail’s ambition is to be the first choice for our customers as a trusted and sustainable partner in moving freight and people. Rail’s natural advantage as an energy efficient and low emissions transport mode is that, today, every tonne of freight moved by rail produces, on average, 60 per cent fewer carbon emissions compared with heavy road freight.

Leveraging KiwiRail’s current emissions advantage, we are also developing a pathway to achieving even greater reductions in operational emissions through a series of projects and improvements:

• We are repairing and refurbishing 15 electric freight locomotives, to extend the life of the fleet and reduce operating costs and carbon emissions.
• A substantial investment in rolling stock ($1.7bn) will also have a positive impact. The 66 new DM class locomotives are more efficient than their predecessors, built to the highest emissions standards (EU stage V) and producing fewer air pollutants per net tonne kilometre of freight carried.
• We have completed plans to procure 24 hybrid shunt vehicles with staggered arrivals from 2027 to 2030 and 11 heavy electric shunt vehicles to start operating from 2026. These vehicles will complement the 16 electric shunt vehicles already owned by KiwiRail.
• Our Driver Advice System is a key tool for lowering our rail freight carbon intensity, by helping locomotive engineers to drive trains more efficiently.
• We have installed a remote offline switch on 53 locomotives to help shut down unnecessary trailing locomotives and are trialling other measures to reduce use of second locomotives when these are not needed.
• Continuing improvements to the metro networks in Auckland and Wellington will boost the attractiveness of rail as a commuting option.
  • In Auckland there have been major renewals of the Eastern and Western line, installation of 19km of overhead electric lines from Papakura to Pukekohe, construction of a third main line between Westfield and Wiri and significant signals integration in preparation for City Rail Link.
  • Wellington has seen upgrades to Plimmerton Station, the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa Line and significant progress on new signals system/integration designed to prepare the lines for faster and more frequent services.
• We are actively working to reduce energy use at our largest facilities: newly installed solar panels at our Waltham Mechanical Workshop in Christchurch provide nearly half (49%) of the site’s total electricity demand. In the seven months to July 2025, they have generated around 650,457 kWh of energy.
• Improvements to the sustainability of the infrastructure that we build include reducing the Scope 3 (embodied carbon) in the assets we build and minimising waste from construction. By making changes to our construction practices, we can reduce our environmental impact while also saving money. On the Papakura to Pukekohe Electrification Project, the team replaced 279 concrete foundation piles with driven steel piles. This initiative delivered significant cost and time savings and achieved an overall 13 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from the works, saving 438 tonnes CO2-e.
• We are close to completing an electrification business case, which is subject to approval of additional funding, looking in detail at how best to electrify more of the North Island network, including the Golden Triangle, between Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton. The Golden Triangle is critical to the New Zealand economy – most freight imports and exports pass through this area, plus it is where most of New Zealand’s population is currently located and where the greatest growth is forecast to occur. New Zealand is a long distance from its markets, so needs efficient, reliable, affordable and low-carbon ways to get goods to the ports, to protect its export income.

While advancing emissions reductions, KiwiRail is also acutely aware of the climate-related risks we face—prompting the development of our first Climate Adaptation Plan.

We know that landslides and river and surface flooding present the greatest risks to the rail network and the occurrence and intensity of these risks are only expected to increase over time. Managing these risks is critical to the resilience and reliability of our physical infrastructure and delivering on our customer promise. Our Climate Adaptation Plan will guide delivery of actions to help us proactively adapt to the changing environment and build resilience into our assets and services.

As a State-Owned Enterprise, KiwiRail has a responsibility to be an organisation “that exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates and by endeavouring to accommodate or encourage these when able to do so”.

We take this responsibility seriously and as a sign of our ambition we have re-joined the Climate Leaders Coalition, a coalition of New Zealand businesses who are working together to accelerate the transition towards a zero carbon and climate resilient future.

This year sees KiwiRail’s refreshed Rautaki Whakauka Sustainability Strategy 2025-2028, where we are committed to being as efficient as possible in all our operations and reducing our own carbon footprint as much as is practicable. Our Carbon Reduction Plan and Climate Action Plans will also be published this year.

Through bold, choiceful investment, strategic innovation, and a deep commitment to sustainability, KiwiRail is not only transforming its own operations—but helping shape a low-carbon, climate-resilient future for New Zealand’s transport sector.

Definitions of GHG emissions scopes

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions

These are emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the company. At KiwiRail, examples include fuel combustion by our locomotives, ferries and vehicle fleet.

Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from purchased electricity

These are emissions from the generation of electricity, steam, heating or cooling that the company purchases and consumes. At KiwiRail, examples include electricity to power our electric freight locomotives, and our offices.

Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions

These are the emissions that occur in the value chain of the company, both upstream and downstream (not included in Scope 2). At KiwiRail, examples include business travel and employee commuting, waste disposal and leased assets.

Michelle Deely

Michelle is the Sustainability Manager at KiwiRail where she leads the delivery of KiwiRail’s sustainability strategy and programme and influences sustainability outcomes across the business. Her primary focus is identifying opportunities in partnership with the business to reduce KiwiRail’s carbon footprint. With 15 years’ experience supporting and leading decarbonisation and sustainability initiatives across the private and public sector, Michelle has a genuine passion for delivering sustainable outcomes. Her role with KiwiRail is fundamental in supporting New Zealand’s transition to a low emissions future.

[1] Benefit of Rail | KiwiRail, 2024