Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,128 kilometres (2,565 mi) of track. It has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 18 million net tonnes moved by rail annually. Starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built by provincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport. However, from the 1870s, focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres. A narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) was adopted nationally. Railways became centrally controlled as a government department under the names New Zealand Government Railways or New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). In the early 1980s, NZR was corporatised as the New Zealand Railways Corporation and drastically restructured, becoming a state-owned enterprise in 1987. In 1991, the rail, inter-island ferry and infrastructure businesses of the Railways Corporation were split off into New Zealand Rail Limited, which was privatised in 1993, and renamed Tranz Rail in 1995. The central government renationalised first the Auckland metro railway network in 2001, then the rest of the country in 2004, and finally the rail and ferry operations in 2008, creating a new state-owned enterprise, KiwiRail. Today, services are primarily focused on bulk freight, with a small number of tourist orientated passenger services. Urban passenger rail services exist only in Auckland and Wellington. Rail in New Zealand has received significant and ongoing government investment since re-nationalisation in 2008, with the two urban rail systems being upgraded.
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