We regulate the rail system, and particularly the activities of rail participants. A rail participant is a person or organisation that provides, maintains or manages rail infrastructure or vehicles.
Our role is to ensure organisations involved in rail activity meet their safety duties and obligations, and that risks are managed. We do this by licensing certain rail participants and regularly monitoring them, investigating incidents and intervening when necessary (including prosecution), and maintaining oversight of major risks in the rail system. About 17 million tonnes of goods were moved on 5000km of track in New Zealand in 2019/20.
