KiwiRail is in the process of rolling out a new Track Evaluation Car (TEC) into New Zealand. A TEC is a specialised rail vehicle that runs over the network to continuously measure and assess the condition of the track while in motion. It uses onboard sensors to capture key geometry parameters such as alignment, level, gauge, and curvature, building a detailed profile of track condition over long distances. This data is then analysed to identify defects, monitor track quality, and prioritise maintenance, helping ensure the railway remains safe, reliable, and fit for purpose.

While the TEC itself is a powerful tool, the real value lies in what happens next — turning vast amounts of raw data into something meaningful and actionable.
As part of the rollout, KiwiRail is working towards creating a digital baseline for every curve across the network — estimated at around 7,000 curves. This baseline will provide a consistent, data-driven reference point for how the track should perform, and how it changes over time.

To support this, the entire network has been surveyed using mobile laser scanning (MLS) technology, generating detailed datasets across each section of track.

But collecting the data is only the beginning.

Vitruvius has been engaged to assist KiwiRail in analysing this data and comparing it to the current baseline geometry held within KiwiRail’s Maximo database. This process involves reviewing the MLS raw data in direct comparison with Maximo, checking for alignment, consistency and compliance, checking whether the new data is suitable to adopt, and then recommending updates for approval by KiwiRail Engineering before establishing the new baseline.

Once verified, this work will help establish a new, more accurate baseline for managing track performance across the network.

One of the biggest challenges in this work is the scale. With thousands of curves and large volumes of raw data, a significant amount of effort goes into preparing and organising the data before meaningful comparisons can even begin. With support from Nathaniel South, AI-based automation methods have been introduced to help organise and structure the datasets more efficiently. This has significantly reduced data processing time, allowing more focus to be placed on analysis and interpretation — where the real value lies.

While much of this work happens behind the scenes, its impact is far-reaching. By combining advanced measurement technology with improved data analysis, KiwiRail is building a more accurate and reliable understanding of its network. In turn, this supports smarter maintenance decisions, better long-term planning, and improved resilience across the rail system.

For me, the most interesting part of this work is seeing how technology, data, and engineering come together to provide a clearer picture of the network — and how that insight can drive better outcomes over time. As the TEC rollout continues, it’s not just about measuring the railway more accurately, it’s about building the foundations for how it will be managed into the future.

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Wastewater collected from homes, businesses and industry is conveyed through a wastewater network to a treatment plant, where contaminants are removed before the treated liquid is returned to the environment. That return to the environment, whether to land or water, is known as a discharge and is the focus of the new Water Services (Wastewater Environmental Performance Standards) Regulations 2025.

There are over 330 wastewater networks across Aotearoa New Zealand, holding over 500 discharge consents​ (Taumata Arowai, 2026)​. Historically, these discharges were consented under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) by regional councils and occasionally, the Environment Court.

Since the RMA was introduced, environmental outcomes have improved. However, the RMA process is resulting in inconsistent outcomes. A cursory look at the discharge consents around the country shows average limits for the main discharges are highly variable. Consent limits for key wastewater contaminants include:

• 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) from 2 mg/L to 1300 mg/L,
• Total suspended solids (TSS) from 3 mg/L to 1200 mg/L, and
• Ammoniacal nitrogen from 0.5 mg/L to 50 mg/L.

There is no significant difference(1)  between consent limits by discharge type (land, surface water, coastal waters), between population size, or date the consent was granted.

The reasons for these variances are complex. Long-term discharges have leveraged their historical environmental impacts, presenting minor treatment tweaks as improved environmental outcomes, where new discharges are held to a higher standard.

With no clear goal post, consent applications are treated as negotiations. Applicants who put forward wastewater management systems with little environmental impacts can be challenged just as much as those who put forward poorer systems – encouraging applicants to keep elements of the proposals “off the table” to bring forward through the negotiations.

This inconsistency results in significant uncertainty for applicants, making it difficult to forecast the costs associated with wastewater treatment upgrades. This also makes the consenting process long and expensive. There are examples where the cost of obtaining a wastewater discharge consent under the RMA is greater than the cost of the infrastructure to implement the same consent.

The Regulations were introduced to address these issues and represent one of the most significant changes to New Zealand’s wastewater consenting framework in decades. They are a positive and overdue reform. The new Regulations introduce nationally consistent performance requirements and provide much clearer direction on what is expected from municipal wastewater discharges.

For discharges to water, this consistency is largely achieved through treated wastewater quality limits, based on the dilution expected at the point of discharge. The result is greater certainty and a more transparent basis for infrastructure planning and investment.

Discharges to land present a different challenge. When wastewater is applied to land at appropriate rates, the soil, plant and animal systems have the capacity to retain a wide range of contaminants. These include organic matter, nutrients, biological contaminants, most heavy metals and many emerging contaminants. The land acts as part of the treatment process, requiring less investment in the treatment plant itself to achieve the same level of environmental protection.

However, this feature makes it more complex to set environmental standards. Effects resulting from land discharges are dependent on treatment provided by the site, which is dependent on the site-specific soils, topography, groundwater, climate, and land use. It is also dependent on loading rates: hydraulic loading and timing, nutrient loading and timing, and other contaminant loading rates. Impacts beyond the site are also dependent on the capacity of the environment to assimilate contaminants to levels that protect human and ecological health.

It would be possible, though challenging, to prescribe discharge to land standards comprehensively. Instead, the Regulations have taken a different approach. Part 4 of the Regulations establishes a framework for determining a Land Class based on Site Characteristics including soil drainage, soil texture, groundwater depth, slope, soil moisture conditions and nutrient uptake. These characteristics are then used to determine appropriate loading rates and management requirements through a site-specific Risk Assessment of specified public health and environmental effects.

This is a deliberate policy choice. Rather than prescribing every variable nationally, the Standards rely on classification and Risk Assessment to accommodate the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s landscapes and wastewater schemes. The challenge is whether this standardised framework, which requires professional judgement, can deliver sufficiently consistent outcomes. If consistent outcomes cannot be achieved, will the Regulations encourage discharges to water over discharges to land, regardless of cultural and community aspirations.

As practitioners begin to apply the Regulations in real-world settings, it is becoming clear that implementation will not always be straightforward.

The Regulations introduce a high volume of technical and process terminology, much of which is not defined. As a result, significant questions arise that do not have clear answers, with experienced practitioners unsure of how they should be applied:

• What types of soils should meet the criteria “very well drained”, when New Zealand Soil Drainage classifications do not use this terminology.
• What constitutes a “minor” versus “extensive” drainage impediment?
• How should soils that do not meet any of the described soil texture categories, i.e., Pumice Soils, be classified.
• What density and volume of site-specific sampling is needed to inform a Land Class assessment? Over what time period?
• What level of analysis of modelling is required to support a Land Class assessment?
• What are the definitions of likelihood and consequence to be used in a Risk Assessment?
• What level of human health and environmental risk is acceptable?

These are not simply technical details. They directly influence the outcome of a Land Class assessment, allowable loading rates, infrastructure requirements and ultimately, affordability for communities. As a result, the consistent application of scientific and engineering judgement, paired with consistent expectations by regulators, remain central to achieving the outcomes sought by the Regulations.

Much of the real-world consistency will come from guidance, practitioner experience and early consent processes and case law. This creates both opportunity and risk. If interpreted too conservatively, land application schemes could become unnecessarily constrained, driving higher costs for councils and communities without proportional environmental benefit. If interpreted too liberally, public health and environmental protection may be compromised. If interpreted inconsistently, the confidence that the Regulations seek to create could quickly erode.

This is why the collaborative work to develop practical guidance, currently being undertaken between The New Zealand Land Treatment Collective (NZLTC) and Taumata Arowai, is so important. Vitruvius, through its involvement in the NZLTC, has been authoring some of this guidance.

Vitruvius have also recently undertaken a preliminary Land Class assessment on behalf of Taupō District Council for the Kinloch wastewater system, and we recently presented our findings at the NZLTC 2026 Conference, in Tauranga. Kinloch provides an interesting case study of applying the Regulations, as the wastewater system includes disposal via rapid infiltration beds at the treatment plant site, and slow-rate sub-surface irrigation on the Kinloch golf course fairways. Each of these systems follows a different Site Characterisation process, with the rapid infiltration having less characteristics to consider, and different category descriptions to apply.

The preliminary Land Class assessment identified that the existing sub-surface drip irrigation system on the golf course is constrained by localised hardpan layers, occasional winter saturation, and moderate nutrient uptake; despite the very high-quality treated wastewater from a membrane bioreactor plant. In contrast, the rapid infiltration trenches adjacent to the treatment plant were able to remove the hardpan layers during construction, and had less characteristics to assess, resulting in a more favourable preliminary Land Class assessment outcome.

This raised an important question: do historical operational priorities, which favoured subsurface drip irrigation over rapid infiltration, still make sense under the new Regulations?

Overall, the Water Services (Wastewater Environmental Performance Standards) Regulations 2025 have made significant progress towards creating greater consistency in wastewater management across New Zealand. However, for discharges to land they have intentionally stopped short of prescribing every factor that determines environmental performance. Instead, they rely on site classification and judgement to account for the complexity of natural systems.

The real measure of success will therefore not be whether the Regulations remove discretion, but whether they provide a framework within which that discretion is exercised consistently, transparently and proportionately. This will be achieved when practitioners assessing similar sites can reach similar conclusions, recognising genuine differences where they exist, and ensuring environmental and public health risks are appropriately managed. If this is achieved, the Regulations will have established a common basis to inform better infrastructure decisions; while balancing environmental protection, affordability and the realities of Aotearoa New Zealand’s landscape.

(1) Based on 95th percentile confidence intervals, using a Student’s T distribution.

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I joined Vitruvius in 2022, bringing with me a background in rail engineering from the UK. What started as a move halfway across the world has evolved into a rewarding journey growing from delivering project engineering on small, sometimes single discipline projects, into a broader role leading and coordinating multidisciplinary rail design across the business. Today, I’m proud to be leading a fantastic rail team in Wellington, working alongside a talented team throughout the business that has allowed me to grow and deliver high quality solutions in what are often constrained and complex environments.

My journey into rail began in 2014, when I joined Network Rail in London as a graduate engineer. Like many people fresh out of university, I wasn’t entirely sure what direction I wanted to take, but the opportunity to work in London (and stay close to friends from University) made it an easy decision to give it a go. What I didn’t realise then was that it would turn into a long-term career.

Those early years were invaluable. I was out on the front line in a safety-critical environment, working across track maintenance, signalling installations, drainage assessments, and bridge inspections. That hands-on experience gave me a solid, practical understanding of how the railway works as a complete system — something that’s stuck with me ever since and shaped how I approach projects today.

Before moving fully into project delivery, I spent some time working in structural design for a small UK consultancy (still within rail). It was a great way to challenge what I’d learned at university and build a stronger technical foundation. When I returned to Network Rail, I moved into a Project Engineer role, delivering multidisciplinary projects to upgrade substations and traction power systems. That was my first real exposure to coordinating across different disciplines, and it quickly became clear the importance of brining disciplines together – breaking down silos, strengthening communication, and aligning teams to achieve better outcomes.

As my experience grew, so did the scale and complexity of the projects I was involved in. I was given opportunities to take on increasingly challenging roles, eventually leading engineering delivery on the client side on major station upgrades, including the Gatwick Station Upgrade. These projects reinforced the importance of balancing technical design with programme pressures, stakeholder expectations, and constructability, all while striving to maintain a safe working environment.

Safety is always my number one priority. Everyone home safe every day is something that I have taken with me throughout my career, reinforced by a tragic event during which I received the devastating phone call that someone had lost their life in an incident on a site during night works. An incident that with the right planning could have been avoided and will remain with me for the rest of my life.

After several years in the UK (and a brief two-year stint working outside rail in Switzerland), I decided it was time for a change. That led me to New Zealand and to Vitruvius, where I’ve now been for almost four years.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate to work on a range of interesting projects. One highlight was seeing my very first project come full circle, undertaking construction monitoring for Elles Road Level Crossing, two years after we had delivered the design.

Whilst I spent the first 2.5 years working to deliver a high volume of projects with some fantastic people doing most of the hard work in the background, a more recent highlight has been my involvement in the Lower North Island Integrated Mobility (LNIRIM) programme, working on new rail yards that support new rolling stock and future network growth throughout the Wellington region. A project where balancing operational constraints, stakeholder needs, programme constraints, and technical design, whilst managing budgets and resources becomes business as usual! I have been lucky to have an awesome team with me delivering exceptional work throughout!

I’ve spent a lot of time supporting projects like the iReX Picton staging works, the iReX wind down works, and now the Ferry Replacement Programme (FRP), all of which are of course completely different projects…Those kinds of projects really highlight what rail engineering is all about — working in constrained environments, solving challenging problems, and keeping everything aligned across multiple disciplines, whilst dealing with the political fallout that undoubtedly happens every 3 years.

One of the biggest learnings along the way is that rail projects are entirely a team sport. Good outcomes rely on multiple disciplines working together effectively — track, civil, signalling, electrical, and operations all need to align. Building strong relationships with clients and partners, and maintaining open communication, is just as important as getting the technical design right.

Working across both the UK and New Zealand rail environments has also taught me the importance of adaptability. While the fundamentals are similar, the standards, processes, and ways of working can be quite different. Having worked both client-side and now consultancy-side has given me a better understanding of the challenges faced on both sides. Many of the issues are similar — disconnected teams, changing requirements, and constrained programmes — and in my experience, strong relationships are often the key to overcoming them.

I started in rail to be close to friends, I stayed in rail because I believe it is an incredible way to connect people, communities, and provides for a more sustainable future.

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Vitruvius is proud to be supporting the delivery of the Putauaki Kawerau Container Terminal (PKCT). This is a landmark infrastructure project that will establish a new rail freight hub for the Eastern Bay of Plenty and unlock long‑term economic benefits for the region.

We are currently assisting PKCT by overseeing construction supervision and providing surveying set-out services for a complex and tightly scheduled build. Our role spans end‑to‑end engineering and planning services, including rail design, stormwater assessment, traffic impact assessment, civil and roading design, integrated stormwater management, and working closely with Engeo to undertake the specialist geotechnical investigations and design.

Supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, this initiative represents over five years of planning and serves as a pivotal driver for enhancing regional supply chains and supporting local industry within the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Once operational, PKCT is expected to remove up to approximately 18,000 heavy truck movements from surrounding roads each year, reducing congestion, improving safety, and delivering meaningful reductions in CO₂ emissions.

The project is now well into its construction phase. Over the Christmas break, Vitruvius worked closely with the Contractor and the Principal to deliver the important first stage of the programme, setting the project up for a strong start. Taking advantage of the Christmas block of line, we reinstated more than 200 metres of existing track.

As the project progresses toward its planned opening in mid‑2026, our team will continue working alongside the contractor and PKCT to deliver:

• a new 750 metre long loading platform
• approximately 1.2 kilometres of new heavy duty rail track
• more than one hectare of new container storage area
• around 100,000 cubic metres of earthworks and imported fill
• new stormwater storage and road access infrastructure.

The PKCT project reflects Vitruvius’ broader capability to deliver complex infrastructure projects that will make a real difference to the region and local community. We are proud of the progress achieved to date and look forward to continuing our contribution as this important project reaches its next milestones.

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Digital enablement isn’t about platforms or buzzwords. For our clients, it’s about confidence. Confidence that the right information is available, decisions are well informed, and complex projects are delivered with clarity and control.

At Vitruvius, our digital journey has been deliberately shaped around that outcome. Our focus has been on building connected, reliable information environments that support collaboration, reduce risk, and unlock value across the full lifecycle of assets.

That journey accelerated in 2023 as remote collaboration became standard and expectations for digital‑first delivery continued to rise. We invested in our first Common Data Environment, a single, trusted source of truth for project information. For our clients, this means greater transparency, fewer disconnects, and confidence that everyone is working from the same, up to date data.

In 2024, we formalised this approach by aligning with ISO 19650, the international standard for information management. Members of our team and Digital Management Group achieved Operam Certified Professional accreditation, ensuring our processes align with global best practice and provide a consistent framework for how information flows from design through to delivery and operations.

Today, digital delivery and strong information management are embedded across the entire business. These processes are used by everyone, from business support and project teams through to senior leadership, regardless of discipline or role. Digital Engineering is not a specialist service bolted on to projects; it’s simply how we work. Since joining Vitruvius as Digital Lead in 2025, I have been focussed on providing clear oversight and direction, helping connect teams, embed consistent practices, and ensure our digital capability continues to evolve in a practical, scalable way.

More of our projects are now delivered using collaborative digital methodologies, supported by platforms such as Autodesk Construction Cloud and Revizto, enabling teams and clients to work together around shared models and data.

The same principles underpin our Project Controls approach. Real-time visibility of progress, cost and risk doesn’t come from any single tool, it comes from the discipline of connecting them. Our controls environment brings together contract data, forecasting and programme reporting in a way that supports confident decision-making, not just compliance. For clients running complex programmes, that clarity is often where the most value is found.

Accurate digital delivery also depends on understanding what exists on the ground. Our survey teams use the latest field capture technologies to produce high quality datasets that add real world context to our models. We’ve also been exploring classified point clouds as a flexible and efficient alternative to traditional scan‑to‑BIM workflows.

GIS plays a growing role across our projects, supporting hydraulic and stormwater analysis and bridging the gap between calculations and CAD based design. It is also embedded in our asset handover processes, linking spatial data to asset identifiers and metadata to support long term asset management. In utility mapping, this allows us to capture not just where services are, but what they are and how confidently they’ve been identified, reducing risk during excavation and construction.

The rapid advancement of AI and analytics has reinforced the importance of this work. While our industry is highly capable at generating data, real value comes from connecting it. Our focus now is on breaking down silos and enabling information to flow from design to delivery and into operation, supporting real time insights, richer visualisation and smarter decision‑making.

And while this is underpinned by robust systems and technical expertise, it’s ultimately driven by people. Recently, while spending time with our Tauranga team, that mindset came through clearly. What began as a conversation about next‑step digital capability ended with a full floor to ceiling server rack being dismantled so it could fit into the back of my car and make the journey back to Auckland. It wasn’t planned, but it removed a barrier and accelerated what comes next.

With strong foundations in place and the right people driving them forward, we’re excited about what this means for our clients and the communities we work with.

Digital, done right.

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This project demonstrates how corridor-level planning can align renewal programmes and improve delivery efficiency in complex urban environments.

Vitruvius undertook corridor-scale assessments across Beach Haven, Onewa Road and Browns Bay Road to align Healthy Waters’ stormwater renewal priorities with Auckland Transport’s FY25/26 road rehabilitation programme. The objective was to identify stormwater renewals, operational issues and treatment opportunities that could be delivered concurrently with planned road works, supporting a coordinated “dig once” approach.

These corridors are high-traffic, community-sensitive environments with constrained working space, dense utilities and limited access. Asset condition, operational performance, flooding behaviour and capacity constraints were assessed using an integrated evidence base combining asset inspections, modelling outputs, service requests (RFS), condition data and operational insight.

The technical review was undertaken alongside engagement with Healthy Waters Operations, Planning, Design and Delivery, Asset Management teams and maintenance partners to validate findings, confirm constructability constraints and address data gaps. Technical and operational inputs informed prioritisation of interventions, balancing resilience and risk reduction objectives with budget availability and programme timing considerations, while supporting long-term network performance.

Assessments were completed within a six-week timeframe to align with Auckland Transport’s renewal programme. Coordinated planning enabled integration of stormwater and road works, minimising disruption to residents, businesses and road users, avoiding unnecessary re-excavation, and reducing duplicate traffic management across programmes.

If you are looking to better align renewal programmes, optimise investment or reduce community disruption in complex urban environments, our team would welcome a conversation. Please get in touch via our website: https://vitruvius.co.nz/contact/ 

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In January, founder Neil Mason transitioned from day-to-day operational involvement into a more focussed governance role, continuing with his responsibilities as Chair of the Board. Neil founded Vitruvius in 2012 with a strong belief in trusted relationships, clear thinking, and consistently high-quality delivery. Under his leadership, Vitruvius has grown into a 60 strong professional services firm recognised for both technical excellence and a values led culture.   

As Chair, Neil now focuses on governance, oversight and long term strategic direction, supporting the Managing Director and leadership team as the business continues to move forward and develop. While he has stepped back from operational delivery, Neil remains closely connected to Vitruvius and its future — ensuring continuity of values, relationships, and intent as the consultancy continues to mature.  

Vitruvius has also been strengthened by the appointment of Lynda Carroll, who joined the Board in September 2025. With more than 25 years’ experience as a chair, director, and governance advisor across Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific, Lynda brings deep expertise in strategy, culture, and long term performance. As Chief Executive of Align Group, she is widely respected for her people centred, future focused approach to governance.    

Lynda was drawn to Vitruvius because she saw an opportunity to add value at an important stage in the consultancy’s governance journey. With a background in consultancy and a strong interest in the sectors Vitruvius operates in, the role felt like a natural fit. Most importantly, she was attracted by Vitruvius’ values and relationship‑led approach, which closely align with her own. Lynda brings valuable perspective and thoughtful challenge as Vitruvius continues to strengthen its long‑term foundations.  

The Board is completed by Andrew Body, Managing Director, with 30 years of international and local leadership experience across infrastructure in both the public and private sectors, and Scott Williamson, a Director since 2020 and Chartered Professional Engineer, who brings extensive infrastructure experience and a thoughtful, values led approach to stewardship.  

Together, the Board provides strong, considered governance to support Vitruvius’ people, clients, and long term success.  

To learn more about our Directors, visit vitruvius.co.nz/our-directors  

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A Rail Engineer at Vitruvius, Shania works across complex transport and rail projects throughout Aotearoa, combining strong technical capability with clear, practical delivery. Her experience spans rail and transport project management, design and design management, business and investment case development, traffic modelling and data analytics, and level crossing safety impact assessments. She applies these skills across the full project lifecycle, from early planning and optioneering through to stakeholder engagement and delivery. 

Shania has played key technical and leadership roles on major rail programmes nationwide. Her work includes leading the development of sustained annual renewal investment cases for both the Wellington and Auckland metro rail networks, supporting funding decisions and long‑term asset planning for some of New Zealand’s most critical transport infrastructure. She has also contributed to complex corridor planning and route protection projects in Auckland, including work on four‑tracking between Papakura and Pukekohe, where she authored transport assessments and assessments of environmental effects, drawing on her specialist knowledge of rail operations and level crossings. 

A recognised leading specialist in level crossing safety, Shania has been the lead assessor for over 100 level crossing safety impact assessments across the country, with all assessments endorsed by KiwiRail. Her ability to identify risk, apply the SFAIRP process, and translate technical safety requirements into clear, implementable recommendations has informed projects ranging from local road upgrades to nationally significant programmes such as City Rail Link and the Speed and Infrastructure Programme. 

Alongside her rail expertise, Shania has also led and contributed to geometric and safety design for road and intersection upgrades, speed management programmes, and active mode projects. Her work has included crash analysis, optioneering, scheme design, cost estimation, and stakeholder engagement, always with a focus on improving safety and outcomes for communities. Shania is currently providing project management and design services for Hutt City Council (HCC) on the Ava Rail Bridge Shared Use Path Replacement, and on Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (Riverlink). 

That technical capability was formally recognised when Shania achieved Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) status at just 25 years old, an exceptional milestone that reflects her discipline, depth of knowledge, and commitment to continual improvement. 

In 2025, Shania’s contribution was further acknowledged when she was named Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation (CILT) Young Achiever of the Year, recognising both the impact she is already having across major transport programmes nationwide and her emerging leadership within the sector. Closer to home, she was also awarded Vitruvian of the Year, Vitruvius’ highest people award, following nomination by her colleagues just seven months after joining the business. True to form, Shania sees these achievements simply as doing her job well and supporting those around her, a humility that speaks volumes about her character. 

Beyond her technical expertise, Shania is someone people genuinely enjoy working with. She is generous with her time and knowledge, regularly mentoring younger engineers, sharing insights, and offering quiet support when it’s needed. Colleagues consistently describe her as approachable, kind, and willing to help, qualities that strengthen team culture as much as they improve project outcomes. 

We’re incredibly proud of the impact Shania is making within Vitruvius and across the transport sector. If that was 2025, we look forward with interest to what 2026 brings. 

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The Lower North Island Rail Integrated Mobility (LNIRIM) programme is a step-change for regional rail. At its heart is Tūhono, a fleet of 18 five-car battery-electric multiple unit (BEMU) trains, the first of their kind in the Southern Hemisphere. These trains will replace ageing diesel-hauled services on the Wairarapa and Manawatū lines, with the first units expected from 2028 and expanded services rolling out from 2030. Alstom has been selected to build and maintain the fleet. 

Beyond the trains themselves, LNIRIM funds the infrastructure that makes a frequent timetable possible. This includes new and extended passing loops, additional stabling in Wellington and Palmerston North, a new depot and stabling facility in Masterton, and selected station and track upgrades. Together, these works create operational flexibility to add services, recover from delays, and reliably meet peak demand.

In parallel, the Wellington Metro Substations Programme delivers the power capacity and resilience the network requires. The Government has committed $137.2 million to renew and upgrade substations across the metro network, many of which are 60–90 years old, specifically to improve reliability and enable future growth in services. This is the quiet, critical backbone for performance, stronger substations will reduce voltage sag, protect assets, and provide headroom for more trains.

The relationship is straightforward. LNIRIM adds new trains and timetable ambition, while the substations provide the electrical capacity and reliability to sustain the enhanced regional rail timetable, as well as timetable enhancements within the Wellington Metro Area for existing metro services.  

Vitruvius is contributing on both sides of this “capacity and service” equation. For the Metro Substations Programme, we are providing civil design services including site access upgrades, building formation and retaining wall design, site security fencing, drainage and flood protection improvements, and new ducting to enable incoming and outgoing power and fibre connections. On the LNIRIM yard upgrades, we have recently been appointed Lead Consultant for the Masterton and Palmerston North facilities. Here, we are coordinating the multi-disciplinary design of stabling, servicing, and operational layouts that will accommodate the Tūhono fleet and support the uplifted timetable. These facilities are pivotal to reliable day-to-day operations and rapid turnarounds between peaks. 

Together, these programmes will deliver cleaner trains, more dependable power, and the infrastructure to run more services more often on the NIMT and Wairarapa lines. The result is better access to jobs and education, stronger inter-regional links, and a network that can grow with demand rather than be constrained by it. That is the promise of Tūhono — to connect and unite communities — and it is a promise Vitruvius is proud to help make real. 

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The week of 11 – 17 August 2025 saw two major rail calendar events coincide in New Zealand – these being Rail Safety Week and the Conference on Railway Excellence (CORE). Both of these events are extremely important to Vitruvius, as they promote safety and technical excellence, which are both intrinsic to our DNA.

Those active in the Rail Sector will be well aware of the importance of Rail Safety Week, an annual nationwide campaign run by the wonderful team at TrackSAFE NZ. This year the campaign slogan was ‘Stay off, Stay safe. Tracks are for trains’. The focus was highlighting the critical risks associated with trespass within the rail corridor. All too often, pedestrians venture into restricted areas of the rail corridor to save time. It is not only extremely risky to do so but is also illegal. The only place pedestrians should be entering the rail corridor is at a designated crossing point, where there are controls in place to mitigate hazards from trains.

Vitruvius supported the campaign across the motu, with our teams in Wellington, Tauranga and Auckland handing out flyers to raise awareness about these risks and encourage better behaviour regarding best practice for pedestrians around the rail corridor. Recent TrackSAFE research indicates that almost half of surveyed participants admit to walking across railway tracks outside designated crossing areas. Last year alone these were 642 recorded trespass incidents, resulting in 60 near misses with trains. These sobering statistics highlight the obvious need for increased awareness and drive home the reasons for doing what we do.

In addition to Rail Safety week, the sector also came together in Tāmaki Makaurau on 13 and 14 August where more than 400 delegates gathered for the annual CORE Conference, hosted by our good friends at the Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA). The conference was well attended by both Kiwis and Aussies alike, with some really insightful technical presentations. It was a fantastic chance for some of the industry’s brightest rail minds to come together and discuss the future of this critical transport mode. It was also really interesting to see some of the similarities (and differences) in the way we work here in New Zealand compared with Australia.

A highlight for us was seeing our very own Simon Cave present on the European Train Control System (ETCS) Digital Integration, focusing on how developing a digital twin can improve project outcomes by removing unknowns and giving design and construction teams unimpeded access into the virtual rail corridor.

This was the first time CORE has been hosted in New Zealand in 15 years – and at a time when focus on technical rail expertise is really important for our future – reinforcing the conference theme ‘Kaitiaki – Guarding the Future’. A great example of some of the challenges faced by skills shortage in the New Zealand rail industry can be seen in a recent paper released by the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) here.

We finished out the week feeling inspired by the passion and effort put into these two events and it really highlighted just how important the rail network is to our country.

If anyone wants to learn more about Rail Safety Week, please visit the TrackSAFE NZ Website here. We’re also really looking forward to attending next years CORE Event which will be held in Adelaide.

Over and out!

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