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Interislander — New Cook Strait Ferries
KiwiRail / Interislander · Wellington
Replacement of Interislander's ageing Cook Strait fleet. Labour's iReX rail-enabled mega-ferry project was cancelled by National in December 2023 (~$500M+ spent/cancellation costs). Under the replacement plan (via Ferry Holdings), a fixed-price contract for two smaller rail-enabled hybrid ferries (~$596M) was signed with Guangzhou Shipyard International in November 2025, for service in 2029. Total programme cost — ferries plus scaled-back Wellington and Picton portside works and contingencies — is ~$1.86b (down from the ~$3b+ iReX plan).
Key facts
- Region
- Wellington
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Planning
- Estimated value
- $1.9b
- Indicative completion
- 2029
- Funding status
- Fully Funded
- Lead organisation
- KiwiRail / Interislander
- Election risk
- High
Election risk assessment
National cancelled the previous ferry+port contract ($551M cancellation fee) and procured differently. A fixed-price ferry contract is now signed, but portside works and delivery still carry risk.
Government priority alignment
MEDIUM — Critical Cook Strait link; the previous contract was cancelled and rescoped — aligns with the GPS value-for-money priority.
Chronology
- 2021KiwiRail signs Hyundai contract for two rail-enabled mega-ferries (iReX)
- 2023National cancels iReX (December); ~$500M+ already committed
- 2025Replacement confirmed: two smaller rail-enabled ferries, scaled-back port works
- 2029New ferries targeted to enter service (by Christmas 2029)