KiwiRail Invests $37.5M in Picton Rail Yard Upgrades and Auto-Mooring Tech

KiwiRail will directly fund up to $37.5 million for Picton rail yard upgrades and adding auto-mooring technology to the new wharf as part of the New Ferries project, Rail Minister Winston Peters announced today.

Selecting KiwiRail as the long-term operator of the Interislander has given the company confidence to invest its own funds in commercial assets, meaning the taxpayer is not paying a cent more than our $1.7 billion allocation but still achieves the benefit as the ultimate owner of KiwiRail, Mr Peters says.

We said in July 2026 that if KiwiRail or either port wants to use their own money to build commercial assets while construction works are underway, then so long as they pay for it and the works do not delay project completion then we will support them.

As shareholders in charge of the no-nonsense New Ferries project, we told KiwiRail and the ports that we have ultimate say on whether they add any scope to the programme – as disciplined scope control is what was absent under the last Government.

KiwiRail presented a proposal to upgrade the connection for its wagon stabling yards into the wharf linkspan, skew the arrival and departure rail lines to give a little more length, add length to the southern backshunt under the new Dublin Street overbridge, and buy auto-mooring units planned for Wellington for the Picton wharf.

The analysis showed these works could be done alongside planned construction without delaying the programme, and that these works are commercially worthwhile as rail yard operations become even simpler to manage as demand shifts across the year, while auto-mooring makes berthing ships faster, safer, and uses less fuel, Mr Peters said.