Vegetation
KiwiRail is one of New Zealand’s largest landowners. We have 18,000 hectares of land and 3500km of rail corridor across New Zealand.
To manage vegetation efficiently across a diverse landscape of this size, we prioritise and schedule our work carefully.
Our top priority will always be to deal with vegetation that makes our rail operations unsafe and poses a risk to members of the public.
We want to ensure our train drivers have a clear view of the railway, road users and pedestrians, and equipment like signals and level crossings. We also need to make sure that road users and pedestrians can see trains approaching.
We contract Treescape to work with us and regional and local councils to understand local requirements and make best use of our limited budget. Many local councils take up beautification leases with us and assume responsibility for maintaining vegetation, especially in urban areas.
We aim to keep the area around the tracks and drains clear of vegetation so drains can work properly and our tracks are looked after. We control weeds and reduce infestations with guidance from regional councils.
Request vegetation work
If you contact us with a request to remove vegetation in your area please note that we prioritise our work based on the impact on our operations and seasonal growth, and plan it for specific times of the year.
This means we may not be able to attend to your request immediately. Please allow up to 30 days for our team to assess your request and reply to you.
If the vegetation is on land leased to a third party (e.g. a Council or member of the public) we will forward your request to them.
Trees and shrubs
If there are trees on our land that are dangerous for you, please let us know immediately: 0800 808 400 (emergencies)
We trim or remove trees and shrubs that are a risk to rail operations. If the trees are not on our land, we discuss our plans with landowners before we do this work.
Weeds
We aim to keep the area around the tracks and drains clear of vegetation so drains can work properly and our tracks are looked after. We control weeds and reduce infestations with guidance from regional councils. This work can involve removing and spraying weeds.
Pests
If you discover a wasp or bees nest in the rail corridor, please contact us using our online form.
If pests like rats and mice are a problem, your quickest solution may be to lay baited traps yourself at your boundary. However, if you cannot do this or cannot do this safely, please contact us using our online form.