How do I make a submission?

Submissions can be made in the following ways:

Completed submissions can be either:

  • emailed to fundingconsult@nzta.govt.nz
  • posted to: 

    Rail Safety Regulator Funding Review
    New Zealand Transport Agency
    Private Bag 6995
    WELLINGTON 6141

All submission must be provided in writing either digitally or in physical form. If submitters wish, they can follow up any digital submission with a copy posted to us.

What is the deadline for submissions?

The deadline to receive online and postal submissions is 5pm, Wednesday 21 November 2018.

Is the information in submissions public information?

The submitter will be asked to provide the following information in their submission:

  • the title of the document
  • your name, and title if applicable
  • your organisation’s name if applicable
  • your address – postal, and email if applicable.

Submissions will be made publicly available.

Submitters will need to indicate clearly if there are any comments in a submission that are commercially sensitive, or if, for some other reason, they should not be disclosed, or if the submitter does not want to be identified.

Any request for non-disclosure will be considered in terms of the Official Information Act 1982 and can only be withheld under that legislation. 

If more information is required call 0800 699 000 or email fundingconsult@nzta.govt.nz

What are the current rates charged and how will these change if the proposed funding model is implemented?

All amounts are GST exclusive.

Current  Proposed  
Annual fixed safety levy Per licensed organisation $347.80   A rail operator licence $500  
A rail access provider licence $500  
To hold either or both types of licences Most licence holders require both these licenses
Annual variable safety levy Access provider (network) $152.60 Per km track Charitable or voluntary organisations None  
Access provider (other) $4.72 Per km track All other operators 16.1 cents Per passenger train km
Passenger operator (metro) $12.61 Per 1000 pax All other access providers 8.05 cents Per train km on its network
Passenger operator (cable car) $0.89 Per 1000 pax      
Passenger operator (heritage and small tourist business) $1.55 Per 1000 pax      
Passenger operator (long distance) $18.53 Per 1000 pax      
Freight operator $83.70 Per $mill of freight revenue      
Fees (fixed) Licence application $104.00   None    
Fees (hourly rate) Ordinary or special safety assessment $156.00 Per hour

Licence application
Safety case variation or replacement
Ordinary or special safety assessment
Compliance intervention
Major project

$120 Per hour
Fees (other costs) None     Any other expense incurred by the Agency Actual and reasonable

What is a licence class and how do I know what licence classes I hold?

All licensed rail participants will hold a licence issued to them by the NZ Transport Agency.

Under the Railways Act 2005, there are two classes of rail participants that must be licensed – rail operators and access providers. Most organisations operating rail vehicles on their own railway lines will be both a rail operator and an access provider.

If you control the use of a railway line by rail operators, you must hold an access provider class of licence. If you provide or operate (i.e. move) rail vehicles on a railway line (yours or someone else’s – the access provider), you must hold a rail operator class of licence. You can hold both these classes under a single licence.

What is the timeline for the Rail Safety Regulator Funding Review?

All activities and actions are indicative and dependant on the outcomes of the consultation. Once a funding model has been agreed it will be implemented in the first half of 2019 with any changes in safety levies and fees effective from 1 July 2019.

Are fees and levies stated in the consultation GST inclusive or exclusive?

GST exclusive.

Will new licence holders be affected the same way if a new funding model is implemented?

Yes they will. It is an industry wide funding model review. New licence holders will be affected in the same way as those who have been licence holders for years.

Can anyone make a submission?

This consultation is open to the public. You do not need to be a rail licence holder, or even in the transport industry, to make a submission.

Can I only submit according to the questions you have asked?

No, the questions are just there to help guide submissions and make it easier for us to understand submitter’s opinions correctly. You can make a submission on any aspect of the proposal discussed in the Consultation document you wish.

The Safety Performance (SPR) reports are due to be returned to the Transport Agency on 12 October – are these part of the consultation?

No, this is a separate process. the SPRs are an annual report, activity levels are submitted through the SPR and the present annual safety levy is calculated using this rail activity data.

 Will this mean the invoices due in December will be put on hold?

No, invoicing will occur mid-December as usual.

How much levy would I pay if the proposed levy rates are put in place?

The NZ Transport Agency is unable to advise any rail participant of their total future levies because the levy rates in the consultation document may change as a result of this consultation process.

We cannot be specific with this answer as we have not verified any organisation’s level of rail activity, nor do we know the reader’s organisational status, for example if you are a charitable or volunteer organisation.

However, the following templates step out the formulae for each licence class. This may help you calculate your future levies if the levy rates proposed in the consultation document come into effect.

Please note:

Table 1

Charity or Volunteer Rail Participant
(refer to definitions on page 17 of Consultation document)
Classes of licence held Total proposed annual levy payable Comments
Licensed Access Provider Annual Fixed Safety Levy $500

This is regardless of whether you operate – if you hold a licence you must pay your Annual Fixed Safety Levy

No Annual Variable Safety Levy charged

Licensed Rail Operator Annual Fixed Safety Levy $500
Operating as both:
Licensed Rail Operator, and
Licensed Access Provider
Annual Fixed Safety Levy $1,000

Table 2 

If you are not a Charitable or Volunteer Rail Participant then the following levies are proposed.

Licensed Rail Operator
  Amount Comments
Annual Fixed Safety Levy $500 This is regardless of whether you operate – if you hold a licence you must pay this component
Plus the annual variable safety levy as follows:

Annual Variable Safety Levy

What distance (in km) do your passenger trains travel each year?

$0.1611 for every passenger train kilometre travelled

$0.1611 x ? kms = $

If you don’t move passengers, this is $0.

For example: if you do 20 return passenger excursions per year, and each is 20km:

  • Your total passenger train distance is 400 km
  • Your variable portion is $0.1611 x 400km = $64.44
Added together to provide the total annual levy:
Total Annual Safety Levy to pay Annual Fixed Safety Levy
+
Annual Variable Safety Levy
=
Total Annual Safety Levy
 

Table 3

Licensed Access Provider
  Amount Comments
Annual Fixed Safety Levy $500 This is regardless of whether any vehicles are operating on your network – if you hold a licence you must pay this component
Plus the Annual Variable Safety levy:

Annual Variable Safety Levy

What distance (in km) do your, or other’s trains (passenger, freight and work trains) travel on your network each year?

  • Refer to page 18 in the consultation document for the definition of a train and a service

$0.0805 for each train kilometre operated on your network

$0.0805 x ? Km = $

Example: The only traffic on your network is your organisation’s 20 return passenger excursions per year, each travelling 20km per excursion:

  • Total train distance on your network is 400km
  • Your variable portion is $0.0805 x 400 km = $32.20

Example: The only traffic on your network is your organisation’s 500 freight shunting movements per year, each travelling 2km per movement:

  • Total train distance on your network is 1,000km
  • Your variable portion is $0.0805 x 1000km = $80.50

Example: Your organisation, and other passenger train operators that use your network, travel a combined total of 1,000 km on your network:

  • Total train distance on your network is 1,000km
  • Your variable portion is $0.0805 x 1,000km = $80.50
Added together to provide the total annual levy:
Total Annual Safety Levy to pay Annual Fixed Safety Levy
+
Annual Variable Safety Levy
=
Total Annual Safety Levy
 

Table 4

Both a Licensed Operator and a Licensed Access Provider
Note – most of our licence holders are both Rail Operators and Access Providers

Annual Fixed Safety Levy - Access Provider

Annual Fixed Safety Levy – Rail Operator

$500

$500

Annual Variable Safety Levy – Rail Operator
(refer Table 2 above)
$0.1611 x ? km = $
Annual Variable Safety Levy – Access Provider
(refer Table 3 above)
$0.0805 x ? km = $
Total Annual Safety Levy to pay Annual Fixed Safety Levy
+
Annual Variable Safety Levy
=
Total Annual Safety Levy

What have been the staffing numbers working for the Transport Agency Rail Safety Regulator in the last 5 years and what the forecast is for the next 5 years?

Year Transport Agency Safety Regulator staff (FTE)
2013 5
2014 5
2015 8.9
2016 11.8
2017 11.8
2018 15.1
2019 - 2023 21 (preliminary forecast)

What is the difference in passenger and train activity between exempt and non-exempt rail licence holders?

Rail passenger activity 2016/17 (Indicative only)

Exempt – means those charitable or volunteer (not for profit and no paid staff) licensed rail participants proposed to be exempted from the variable safety levy.    

Licensee type Number Total rail passengers Total passenger service kms Total train kms
KiwiRail and Metro commuter 3 32,700,000 7,836,128 21,421,824
T&H NRS Non-Exempt 4 94,000 136,000 136,000
T&H NRS Exempt 2 7,100 4,500 4,500
T&H Non-NRS Non-Exempt 21 1,480,000 189,000 189,000
T&H Non-NRS Exempt 23 162,000 39,000 39,000