Rail regulation in New Zealand

• Land Transport NZ's role in rail regulation
• Rail safety licensing and safety assessment guidelines
• Rail licences
• Safety at level crossings

Land Transport NZ's role in rail regulation

Land Transport New Zealand regulates New Zealand's railways by:

• administering the Railways Act 2005
• licensing rail operators and access providers
• approving their safety cases
• carrying out safety assessments
• approving safety case variations.

Rail safety licensing and safety assessment guidelines

These are an essential guide for safety management of railways and tramways in New Zealand.

Rail safety licensing and safety assessment guidelines (PDF, 1.14 MB).

Rail safety cases

Each individual rail operator and access provider in New Zealand is responsible for developing a safety case that describes the safety management of their particular operation. This safety case must be approved by Land Transport New Zealand, which will then issue a rail licence. All licence holders are safety assessed regularly, normally once a year, to ensure they comply with their safety case.

Rail licences

A rail licence is a licence to carry out the rail activities set out in an approved safety case. A rail licence is granted under the Railways Act 2005, which is administered by Land Transport New Zealand.

Safety at level crossings

Read information on safety at level crossings in the Road user safety section of this website.

Last updated: 20 July 2006