Which rail lines or sections of line are now classified as being in “managed decline”, and what objective engineering criteria were used to place each line into that category?

Answer

No rail lines are classified as being in "managed decline". In fact, the Minister for State Owned Enterprises during the 2017-2020 and the Minister for Rial today have enabled the Government to invest significantly in rail lines that were in poor condition - such as the line to Northland and in the Wairarapa. All active rail lines are either metro, priority, secondary or a small number of tertiary routes. Where routes could experience a decline in service levels, such as through weather events or asset condition, KiwiRail will manage this through increased track inspections and maintenance. This is particularly the case for some priority routes and for how secondary and tertiary routes have been managed for many years. KiwiRail is committed to maintaining freight volumes on rail. See the different expectations on parts of the rail network on p10 and 19 of the 2024 – 27 RNIP: www.kiwirail.co.nz/our-network/funding-our-network/rail-network-investment-programme/