The minister for rail, formerly the minister of railways, is a New Zealand Government minister responsible for KiwiRail, the state-owned enterprise that operates the national rail network and the Interislander ferry service. The position was recreated in 2024 after a twenty-year period in abeyance.
The current minister for rail is Winston Peters.
History The position of Minister of Railways was created in 1895 to oversee the New Zealand Railways Department fifteen years after the department was formed. The minister's purview shifted to the New Zealand Railways Corporation in 1981 and gained New Zealand Rail Limited in 1990. The railway network was privatised in 1993 and the portfolio was disestablished.
The rail network came back into public ownership in 2008 (see KiwiRail) but separate ministerial responsibility for rail was not restored until 2024. Until that time, the Minister of State Owned Enterprises and Minister of Transport were the shareholding ministers for KiwiRail.
Office-holders
The following MPs have held the office of Minister for Rail:
Key
No.NamePortraitTerm of OfficePrime MinisterAs Minister of Railways 1 Alfred Cadman 1 January 1895 21 December 1899 Seddon 2 Joseph Ward 5 January 1900 6 August 1906 Hall-Jones 3 William Hall-Jones 6 August 1906 30 November 1908Ward 4 John A. Millar 6 January 1909 28 March 1912 5 Arthur Myers 28 March 1912 10 July 1912 Mackenzie 6 William Herries 10 July 1912 3 September 1919Massey 7 William Massey 3 September 1919 16 May 1922 8 David Guthrie 16 May 1922 6 June 1923 9Gordon Coates 6 June 192310 December 1928 Bell Coates 10 William Taverner 10 December 1928 28 May 1930 Ward 11 Bill Veitch 28 May 1930 22 September 1931Forbes 12 George Forbes 22 September 1931 6 December 193513Dan Sullivan6 December 193512 December 1941 SavageFraser 14 Bob Semple 12 December 1941 12 December 1949 15 Stan Goosman 13 December 1949 26 November 1954 Holland 16 John McAlpine 26 November 1954 12 December 1957 Holyoake 17 Mick Moohan 12 December 1957 12 December 1960 Nash (16) John McAlpine 12 December 1960 12 December 1966 Holyoake 17 Peter Gordon 12 December 1966 8 December 1972 Marshall 18 Tom McGuigan 8 December 1972 10 September 1974 Kirk 19 Ron Bailey 10 September 1974 12 December 1975 Rowling 20 Colin McLachlan 12 December 1975 11 December 1981 Muldoon 21 George Gair 11 December 1981 26 July 1984 22 Richard Prebble 26 July 1984 4 November 1988 Lange 23 David Lange 4 November 1988 8 November 1988 24 Stan Rodger 8 November 1988 9 February 1990 Palmer (22) Richard Prebble 9 February 1990 2 November 1990 Moore 25 Doug Kidd 2 November 1990 3 October 1991 Bolger 26 Maurice McTigue 3 October 1991 1 July 1993 27 Wyatt Creech 1 July 1993 21 December 1993 28 Philip Burdon 21 December 1993 16 December 1996 As Minister for Rail 29 Winston Peters 11 December 2024 present Luxon
See also Rail transport in New Zealand
References
Further reading