Benefits of Rail
Shifting freight by rail benefits everyone. When our customers choose rail they are helping to create a safer and healthier environment for all and a positive future for New Zealand.
Rail is critical for the economy, boosting productivity and providing additional value to New Zealand.
Benefits delivered to all New Zealanders through social, environmental and economic values have been quantified in The Benefit of Rail to New Zealand report (6.2 MB, Pdf), released by the Australasian Railway Association in August 2024. This report expands the previous value of rail studies to include growth domestic product (GDP) output impacts if rail did not exist.
Sustainable Freight
We aim to build on our natural advantage as a low emissions transport option for our customers and continue with initiatives to further reduce energy usage across our operations.
With New Zealand’s carbon targets being established, more and more organisations are measuring and monitoring their own carbon footprints. We help our customers to reduce their carbon footprint, as rail transport is on average, 60 per cent more carbon-efficient than heavy road freight.
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Steel Wheels Report
The report highlights carbon reductions from rail use, covering fuel savings and the reduced impact of heavy vehicle movements on roads.
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Carbon Calculator
Use this calculator to estimate how much you could reduce your carbon emissions by using KiwiRail services.
Steel Wheels
KiwiRail helps its freight customers quantify the emissions benefits of choosing rail over road through a monthly ‘Steel Wheels’ report. In the year to June 2025, KiwiRail transported around 3.4 billion net tonne kilometres of freight, which equates to taking around 1 million truck trips off the road, avoiding 220,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
Carbon Calculator
KiwiRail launched a Carbon Calculator open_in_newto meet increasing demand from customers wanting to compare carbon emissions from rail, road and air.
It allows users to input information about what is travelling on the KiwiRail network, then estimates the emissions created by that journey and compares it to equivalent journeys by road or air. The total emissions calculated also includes the Interislander when rail freight crosses the Cook Strait.