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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, after more than $500m in spending and cancellation costs. Through Ferry Holdings, a fixed-price $596m contract for two smaller rail-enabled hybrid ferries was signed with Guangzhou Shipyard International in November 2025, for service in 2029. The total programme, including scaled-back Wellington and Picton portside works, is about $1.86b, down from $3b+ for iReX.
Data current as at 13 Jun 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Wellington
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Under Construction
- Estimated value
- $1.9b
- Indicative completion
- 2029
- Funding status
- Fully Funded
- Lead organisation
- KiwiRail / Interislander
- Election risk
- Low
Election risk assessment
Fixed-price ferry contract signed November 2025 and port agreements locked in; ships are under construction for 2029 delivery. Both major parties accept the replacement is needed; the remaining exposure is portside works and future budget appropriations.
Government priority alignment
MEDIUM: Critical Cook Strait link; the previous contract was cancelled and rescoped, aligns with the government 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
- 2026Ferries formally named KUPE and COOK (17 July); KiwiRail confirmed as operator for 30 years from arrival, review point 2039
- 2029New ferries targeted to enter service (by Christmas 2029)