Transdev Wellington is the operator of Wellington's Metlink rail network in New Zealand. The entity is a partnership of

Transdev Australasia Transdev Australasia is an operator of bus, ferry, light rail and rail services in Australia and New Zealand. It is a subsidiary of French-based, international Transdev. It was formed in 2013 by grouping the operations of Veolia Transport Aust ...

and

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...

, who were awarded the contract to operate and maintain the commuter rail system in December 2015 by the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

. The contract commenced on 3 July 2016, taking over from

KiwiRail KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise responsible for rail operations in New Zealand, and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail ...

division

Tranz Metro Tranz Metro (formerly Cityrail and before that Cityline) was a New Zealand public transport operator. Beginning as the New Zealand Railways Corporation's Cityline division as a result of restructuring in the 1980s, in its final form Tranz Metr ...

Background

The

(GWRC) put the contract for the operation of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

's metropolitan commuter rail services out to tender in 2015. Bids were received from a

Keolis Downer Keolis Downer is a joint venture between Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group, and Downer Rail, an Australian railway engineering company, that operates bus and tram services in Australia. History In June 2009, the Victo ...

joint venture,

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...

and a

joint venture. In December 2015, the Transdev Australasia/Hyundai Rotem joint venture was announced as the preferred bidder. The contract runs for nine years from 1 July 2016. The contract has two three-year extension options, taking its potential total length to 15 years. Extensions are subject to the achievement of performance targets including on-time performance and customer satisfaction. GWRC stated that the contract is to provide savings to ratepayers of around $100m over the 15 years. In November 2017, the first strike on Wellington's network in 24 years occurred.

Operations

Most of

's 400 operational staff were re-employed by Transdev Wellington. Most rolling stock used on the Wellington suburban network is owned by the GWRC and leased to the current operator. The fleet comprises: *83 FP/FT "Matangi" class electric multiple units (Johnsonville, Hutt Valley, Kapiti and Melling lines) *18 SW class carriages (

Wairarapa Connection The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Transdev (with KiwiRai ...

) *6 SE class carriages (Wairarapa Connection) *1 AG class baggage/generator van (Wairarapa Connection) Transdev contracts

on a "hook-and-tow" basis for the DFB class diesel-electric locomotives that haul the Wairarapa Connection services.

References

{{Transdev Hyundai Motor Group Railway companies established in 2016 Railway companies of New Zealand Transdev New Zealand companies established in 2016