The changed framework for heritage operations on the New Zealand main line

Prior to 2005 heritage rolling stock ran on the NZ main line under the license of the national railway operator, New Zealand Railways and its successors. Risk and safety responsibilities were somewhat ambiguous and relationships between the national operator and railway heritage groups were sometimes tense. In 2004 vertical separation of infrastructure and railway operations occurred. In 2005 the new national above-rail operator advised the NZ Government that it would no longer accept heritage operations under its license. In response to a Government directive to facilitate continued operation of heritage trains the Stateowned infrastructure owner, ONTRACK, developed a National Rail System Standard for “Heritage Vehicle and Train Management”. This standard provided a framework within which heritage operations could develop and remains the cornerstone of the current regime. Transition to the new framework under which heritage operators run under their own licenses within a collegial environment has been largely successful. There are opportunities for further development of the management of heritage operations and on-going evolution of the roles of Access Provider, regulator and heritage operators to develop more effective safety management systems and encourage heritage organisations to take greater responsibility for their own operations. A case is made that there is a place for main line heritage operations but that there needs to be a greater awareness and acknowledgement of what constitutes acceptable risks by all parties.

• Record URL:
  • http://railknowledgebank.com/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3&rID=MjExNg==&sID=MTA=&ph=VHJ1ZQ==&qcf=MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==
• Authors:
  • Hunt A
  • Cotton I
• Conference:
  • CORE 2012, Rail - the core of integrated transport, conference on railway engineering, Perth, Western Australia, 7-10 September 2012
• Publication Date: 2012

Media Info

• Pagination: 6p. ; PDF
• Monograph Title: Rail - the core of integrated transport: CORE 2012: conference on railway engineering, 7-10 September 2012, Perth, Western Australia

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: History; Standardization; Standards
• ATRI Terms: History; Standardization
• Subject Areas: History;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01532144
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 29 2014 11:57AM