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Story summary
- Rail Minister Winston Peters announced KiwiRail will operate two new Cook Strait ferries, Kupe and Cook, arriving in 2029.
- The $1.9 billion Interislander project limits taxpayer funding to $1.7 billion (set November 2025), with construction starting in 2027 under a fixed-price contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International.
- KiwiRail targets $160 million earnings by 30 June 2026 and reports Interislander reliability at 98 %.
