New Zealand Railways Department

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The New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) was a department of the New Zealand government founded in 1880 , which was responsible for the planning, construction and maintenance of the New Zealand rail network . Under pressure from financial losses, the department was privatized in 1982 and transferred to the New Zealand Railways Corporation (NZRC).

history

Construction of the first railway line began in New Zealand in 1860. It was 6.5 km long and ran from Christchurch to Ferrymead , a small suburb of Christchurch. The line opened in 1863. Other smaller lines, such as those from Invercargill to Bluff in 1867 and those from Dunedin to Port Chalmers in 1873, followed. The breakthrough for New Zealand's railroad construction came with the plan developed in 1870 by the then Finance Minister Julius Vogel , which promoted road and railroad construction by investing and recruiting immigrants as workers. With that, the construction of the railway became more and more a matter for the colonial administration.

When the provinces were abolished in 1876, the railroad came under government control and came under the Department of Public Works . In 1878 the Minister appointed two Railway Commissioners, one each for the North Island and one for the South Island . The New Zealand Railways Department was founded in 1880. The railway lines were initially built by the Public Works Department and then handed over to the newly created department for operation. It was not until 1895 that the New Zealand Railways Department became independent through the assignment of its own minister.

From 1920, the financial situation of New Zealand's railways began to deteriorate steadily. Losses were recorded for the first time in 1945. In the years that followed, up to 1970, losses and gains could still be balanced over a period of several years. After 1970, however, the losses in the operation of the railway network increased dramatically. Under public pressure, the railway was privatized in 1982 and the New Zealand Railways Corporation was founded, which took over the tasks of the New Zealand Railways Department.

The State-Owned Enterprises Act of 1986 officially gave New Zealand Railways Corporation State-Owned Enterprise status .

literature

  • Dave Heatley: The history and future of rail in New Zealand . Ed .: New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation. Wellington 2009 (English).
  • Gordon McLauchlan: Railways . In: Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia . 5th edition. David Bateman Ltd., Auckland 1996, ISBN 0-908610-21-1 , pp. 526 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dave Heatley: The history and future of rail in New Zealand . Ed .: New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation. Wellington 2009, p. 12 (English).