A freight train derailment in the central North Island has resulted in a gas leak.

Speed controls on Auckland's new electric trains are overriding their drivers to make them slower than the diesel clunkers they are replacing for $520 million.

Auckland's gleaming new electric trains launched into business at 5.48am today - and quickly experienced delays.

Passengers gave Auckland's new electric trains high marks for comfort on their first work-day today.

New electric trains could become a quiet, fast-moving hazard for the unwary when they start running in Auckland on Monday.

Acoustic engineers have been trying to soften the air-conditioning noise on Auckland's new electric trains with a week to go before they are rolled out for commuter use.

His identity is a mystery - but the hedge fund exec who dodged $83,000-worth of train fares has got the villagers of Stonegate gossiping.

Forty of the state-owned company's locomotives were taken out of action following the discovery of the potentially deadly material in a soundproofing compound inside one of the vehicles.

Cost-cutting exercises by KiwiRail could end up costing workers their lives if tests on Chinese-made trains show positive results for asbestos.

A train derailment in Auckland has resulted in two train workers being hospitalised.

Eight Auckland commuter trains have had windows smashed by rock-hurling vandals, injuring passengers in one case.

Mayor Len Brown sounds keener than ever, for obvious reasons, to see work start on the Auckland central rail link. He needs to be seen to be effective again.

PM John Key has rebuffed a $250m offer from Auckland Mayor Len Brown to kick-start the $2.86b City Rail Link, saying it's on track for 2020.

The country's most dangerous rail crossings - including one in Auckland - have been revealed as authorities plead with motorists to take care following a spate of near collisions.

A spate of near-collisions between motorists and trains at level crossings have prompted a warning to drivers.

Arrests have been made after four workers were attacked on Auckland's rail network in the past week, sparking a union call for better protection.

Concerns have been raised for Auckland train staff after two inspectors were assaulted in broad daylight, one of them kicked and punched to the ground by eight people.

A Taieri Gorge Railway employee is fed up after the second "bizarre" incident in which a live eel has been dangled from a rail bridge and hit by a train.

At the old Auckland Railway Station near Britomart, there appear to be new electric pylons going up.

As part of his platform for last year's local body elections, Mayor Len Brown said he would push for a 2016 start to Auckland's $2.86b city rail link. However, his ability to gain an early start to the rail link has been much reduced.

A waterfront dispute has broken out between two of New Zealand's biggest ports, arguing about who is the best.

Waipuna Junction railway station is sure to appeal to both young and old. Stephanie Chamberlain hops on for a ride.

A scrub fire has forced a halt to train traffic outside Hamilton.

Penny Lewis lets the train take the strain as she journeys through the Central North Island.