Minister for Rail

Minister for Rail
Coat of Arms of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand
Incumbent Winston Peters since 11 December 2024
KiwiRail New Zealand Railways Corporation
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Cabinet of New Zealand Executive Council
Reports to	Prime Minister of New Zealand
Appointer	Governor-General of New Zealand
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	24 November 1895
First holder	Alfred Cadman
Salary	$313,100
Website	www.beehive.govt.nz

The Minister for Rail, formerly the Minister of Railways, is a minister in the New Zealand Government. The minister is 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

Plaque next to main entrance of Hamilton Railway Station – opened by Hon Ron Bailey, 1975

The following MPs have held the office of Minister for Rail:

Key

  Liberal   Reform   United   Labour   National   New Zealand First

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of Office		Prime Minister
As 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 1908		Ward
	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 1919		Massey
	7	William Massey		3 September 1919	16 May 1922
	8	David Guthrie		16 May 1922	6 June 1923
	9	Gordon Coates		6 June 1923	10 December 1928
							Bell
							Coates
	10	William Taverner		10 December 1928	28 May 1930		Ward
	11	Bill Veitch		28 May 1930	22 September 1931		Forbes
	12	George Forbes		22 September 1931	6 December 1935
	13	Dan Sullivan		6 December 1935	12 December 1941		Savage
							Fraser
	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

Further reading

• Stott, Bob; Leitch, David (1988). New Zealand Railways: The First 125 Years. Auckland: Heinemann Reed. p. 176. ISBN 0-7900-0000-8.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.