From 1 January 2020, each licence holder must pay a fixed annual safety charge of $400 for the licence. [5(4)(external link)]
If you’re both a rail operator and an access provider, you will have to pay the fixed $400 fee for both licence classes [7(3)(external link)].
A licence holder who is a rail operator must also pay a variable charge that is calculated based on the number of passenger service kilometres operated during the previous year. [5(5)(external link)]
A licence holder who is an access provider must also pay a variable charge that is calculated based on the number of network traffic kilometres operated on their railway line during the previous year. [5(6)(external link)]
If you are a registered charity or a volunteer organisation, you are exempt from paying the variable charge.[7(external link)]
Depending on the type and size of operator you are, there are caps to the annual safety charge [6(1)(external link)]. These have been outlined in the table below.
|
Licence holder type |
Rail activity details (previous year) |
Max charge |
|---|---|---|
|
Rail operator |
Operated more than 250,000 but not more than 2,500,000 passenger service kilometres |
$6,000 |
|
Rail operator |
Operated more than 25,000 but not more than 250,000 passenger service kilometres |
$3,000 |
|
Rail operator |
Operated no more than 25,000 passenger service kilometres |
$1,500 |
|
Access provider |
More than 500,000 but not more than 5,000,000 network traffic kilometres operated on its railway line |
$6,000 |
|
Access provider |
More than 50,000 but not more than 500,000 network traffic kilometres operated on its railway line |
$3,000 |
|
Access provider |
No more than 50,000 network traffic kilometres operated on its railway line |
$1,500 |
Note: There are no maximum annual safety charges for operators who exceed 2,500,000 passenger service kilometres and/or access providers who have more than 5,000,000 network traffic kilometres operated on their railway line. [6(2)(external link)]
An access provider is a person or organisation that controls the use of a railway line by rail operators. This applies to a railway operating on a single rail or set of rails with a gauge of 550 mm or greater, and those with a lesser gauge which are included by regulation.
CloseA rail operator is the person who provides or operates a rail vehicle as described above, including:
Generally, railways with a lesser gauge that are available for public use are considered to be amusement devices and are excluded from requiring a licence under the Railways Act.
Note: For details about operating those, refer to Worksafe NZ’s Amusement devices(external link) page.
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