Kiwirail is mandated to make a profit. The cost of a train ticket will include the proportional cost of maintaining the rail network, the deprecation cost of t

Kiwirail is mandated to make a profit. The cost of a train ticket will include the proportional cost of maintaining the rail network, the deprecation cost of the train and the passenger cars, staff to run it, along with a tidy profit. You are most likely comparing it to the cost of petrol, which is not the full costs of driving a car. Everyone always forgets to take into account the deprecation on your car, running costs, fixed costs (WoF, rego). For tax purposes, IRD estimates the true costs per km (including fuel) to be 76c. Using that 76c per km rate, your car trip is suddenly costing way more than the train ticket. Additionally, there is construction and the maintenance cost of the road network itself. That's all paid for by the government out of your rego and income taxes. Kiwirail is required to include that in their ticket costs, but it's hidden from drivers.