NZTA warns of rail network ‘safety risks’ as regulation underfunded

A train derailment in Rangitīkei. Officials have warned the Government there is a growing risk of a major safety incident on the rail network. File photo / Bevan Conley

Transport Minister Simeon Brown says the Government is working on a solution to ensure NZTA Waka Kotahi can safely regulate New Zealand’s railways after a briefing, released by the Herald, showed officials warning rail regulation was underfunded to an extent that may be unsafe.

In an April briefing released to the Herald under the Official Information Act, NZTA officials warned the agency faced a $528,000 deficit in its rail regulation budget for the 2023/24 year.

The officials warned the rail system was nearing a crisis point due to increased passenger patronage in Auckland and Wellington, the spike in demand likely to be precipitated by the City Rail Link, ageing infrastructure, and freight movements.

“There is a growing risk of a major safety incident on the rail network,” officials said, while adding that overall, the chance of a major incident was “low”.

The officials cited a 2023 incident when the Te Huia train ran a red light, risking a collision with an Auckland Transport Metro train, as an example of a near miss that might become more regular.

While the rail industry has not experienced a major safety incident in recent history, there have been some close calls.

Officials said some areas of the rail network were “not maintained at all”, creating safety risks. They also said the increase in passenger numbers, particularly at peak times, and mixing new and old infrastructure, as will occur in Auckland with City Rail Link, could cause problems.

In 2019, rail regulatory fees and charges were increased in response to a safety funding review. The Government moved to a cost-recovery model, which was meant to work by ensuring revenue increased as rail volumes increased.

The officials said this assumption was wrong and has left the rail regulatory function at NZTA underfunded.

Despite rail transporting tens of thousands of passengers every day, not to mention the safety of the drivers and other track users, rail remains largely self-regulated in New Zealand.

A spokesperson for NZTA told the Herald that rail operators were required by law to “identify and manage their own risks so far as is reasonably practicable”.

NZTA’s job was only to “seek evidence and assurance that this is happening through regular assessments, and the management of issues when they arise”.

The spokesperson said NZTA currently only has capacity “to attend to the highest priority safety-focused regulatory activities”. NZTA funding does not cover the cost of attending these “activities”, meaning the agency has to cross-subsidise.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown (centre) says the Government is looking to find a funding solution for regulating railways. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Brown told the Herald he had received advice from NZTA “raising concerns with resourcing for its rail safety regulatory function” after it commissioned an independent party to review that area of its operations.

“NZTA is working with the Ministry of Transport to consider the recommendations of the report, and I expect to receive advice in due course,” he said.

He said NZTA had been advised to “begin work on cost recovery options to ensure that more resource is made available for their rail safety regulatory function” and that work was under way.

The NZTA spokesperson said the agency’s board “has indicated its intention to address the regulatory capacity issues and has directed that work begins immediately to respond to the recommendations from the independent review”.

They said the increased complexity of the system means “we need more funding to meet the costs of employing more people”.

They said the agency had a plan to increase regulatory capacity to carry out more assessments, better anaylse data, and provide more technical rail expertise.

Labour’s transport spokesman Tangi Utikere said the Government did not seem to be moving at pace, noting the briefing advised the coalition it could try to fund rail regulation through the recent Government Policy Statement on Land Transport or in the 2024 Budget, neither of which was done

“In early April, the minister was made aware that this was going to be an issue and we haven’t heard anything about that. We would be expecting he would be announcing plans into how he is planning to tackle that exact issue,” he said

Utikere said it was “simply irresponsible” for the Government to be moving so slowly.

“There is clearly a need to do something in this space, there is a call for the minister to come up with a plan. Silence is not delivering any confidence for rail users,” Utikere said.

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.