Calls for national workforce plan as NZ rail sector faces ‘retirement cliff’

KiwiRail is the biggest employer in the NZ rail sector. (Image: KiwiRail)

Thu, 29 May 2025

The New Zealand rail industry is facing a “retirement cliff”, with more than one in four workers expected to retire in the next decade.That’s one of the key findings from a report commissioned by the Australasian Rail Association (ARA) and the Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council, representing the NZ manufacturing, rail, engineering and logistics sectors.Released on Thursday at the ARA-organised RailNZ conference in Auckland, the report highlighted the detrimental workforce impacts of the boom-and-bust cycles typic...

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