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 heavy 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 ...

and

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem Company, often referred to as Hyundai Rotem (), is a South Korean manufacturer of railway rolling stock, railway signalling, defense products and plant equipment. It is a member of Hyundai Motor Group and has presence in more than ...

, 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 (GWRC), is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for Public transport in the Wellington Region, p ...

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

KiwiRail KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for rail operations in New Zealand and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered at 604 Great South Road, Ellerslie, New Zealand, Ell ...

division Tranz Metro.

Background

The

(GWRC) put the contract for the operation of

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

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

Keolis Downer Keolis Downer is a public transport operator that operates bus, train, tram and ferry services in Australia. It is a joint venture between Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group, and Downer Rail, an Australian railway enginee ...

joint venture,

Serco Serco Group plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational military, defence, Healthcare, health, Space industry, space, private prison, justice, Human migration, migration, customer service, customer services, and transport company ...

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 Tranz Metro's 400 operational staff were re-employed by Transdev Wellington.

Rolling stock

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 Line 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 Wellington, Transdev (w ...

) *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

Background

Operations

Rolling stock

See also

References