| KiwiRail issues RFP

KIWIRAIL has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for two 50,000 gross tonne hybrid rail ferries, following on from the award of NZ$400 million in the New Zealand government’s 2020 budget (CW 25 May).

The next step forward in its major fleet renewal program, the two ferries will service the route between Picton and Wellington, and will expand on the current three-strong fleet.

The Interislander ferries are extensions of New Zealand’s State Highway 1 and the Main Trunk Line across the Cook Strait, linking the North and South Islands.