KiwiRail maps rail industry’s transition to a lower carbon future

KiwiRail has unveiled its plans to transition to a low carbon, climate resilient business as it prepares the network for the growing impacts of climate change. 

“As an example of how we’re ramping up our efforts, with Government support we’ve procured 66 new efficient diesel locomotives - 47 will replace our aging locomotive fleet in the South Island and 19 will be deployed in the North Island between now and 2028,” says KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy. 

“We’re improving the sustainability of the infrastructure we build, including reducing embodied carbon in our assets and minimising waste from construction. 

“Government funding has also allowed us to invest in low emissions shunting technology, ordering 24 hybrid shunt vehicles and 11 electric shunt vehicles to complement the 16 electric vehicles already in service.” 

In its latest sustainability strategy, KiwiRail has set ambitious but feasible targets to reduce emissions across its operations, with specific actions and timelines to achieve these targets. 

“Our new Carbon Reduction Plan (24 MB, Pdf) outlines how we will reduce emissions across our various operational areas, including rail freight, ferries, vehicle fleet and other business activities,” says KiwiRail Sustainability Manager Michelle Deely. 

KiwiRail is a leader in low-carbon emissions transport, and its customers want to make use of rail’s natural low-carbon advantage. Moving freight by rail helps those customers by providing a lower emissions option in the supply chain so they can meet their own sustainability targets. 

KiwiRail has also issued its first Climate Adaptation Plan (19 MB, Pdf), outlining how the company will proactively manage climate risks to maintain more reliable services and avoid the need for costly repairs to its assets after extreme weather. 

“We’re taking a comprehensive approach. For example, we’ve developed standard bridge designs that enable increased resilience to climate change by raising the height of the bridge surface above flooding levels.  

 “We’ve also improved our remote sensor network, with 45 landslide sensors across the network monitoring specific slip sites in high-risk locations, and 318 weather and rain gauges to monitor the risk of severe weather events.  

 “And we’re using our LiDAR-enabled drone to capture rate of change of coastal assets, an innovative approach that enables us to identify our higher risk areas and those sections more vulnerable to sea level rise so we can target our maintenance and renewals.”  

• Read KiwiRail's Rautaki Whakauka Sustainability Strategy 2025–2028.
• Read our Carbon Reduction Plan (24 MB, Pdf) and our Climate Adaptation Plan (19 MB, Pdf).
•  Watch our explainer video on YouTubeopen_in_new. 

NOTES  

•  In the next 10 years, KiwiRail’s goal is to reduce its own carbon emissions by 40 per cent (against a FY19 baseline) and to reach net-zero carbon by 2050. 
• KiwiRail is proud to be a member of the Climate Leaders Coalition and to support New Zealand’s transition to a net zero carbon, climate resilient economy. 
• As an energy efficient and low emissions mode of transport, rail freight and metropolitan commuter transport saves New Zealand more than 410,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions a year, according to The Benefit of Rail to New Zealand report.