Chances of getting work as a locomotive engineer vary depending by area. Opportunities are best in Auckland and Wellington, where there are urban commuter rail networks and major freight depots. Opportunities in other parts of the country are limited.

Expansion of Auckland's urban rail network means more locomotive engineers needed

Opportunities for locomotive engineers are best in Auckland, where the urban commuter rail network is being upgraded and expanded to meet increasing demand. New lines, trains and services are being added, with more planned for the next five years. This will mean more opportunities for locomotive engineers.

Urban commuter train services in Auckland will also increase to keep up with demand during the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Extra locomotive engineers will need to be trained to meet this demand.

Urban commuter rail opportunities good in Wellington

Vacancies for commuter train locomotive engineers also arise regularly in Wellington, which has an urban commuter rail network similar in size to Auckland. However, Wellington's network is not expected to grow as much as Auckland's, so most job vacancies will be due to people retiring.

Limited opportunities for freight and long distance passenger train locomotive engineers

Vacancies for freight train or long distance passenger train locomotive engineer are rare. These networks are stable, rather than growing, and locomotive engineers tend to stay in the role for a long time, so opportunities typically only come up when people retire.

However, a large number of locomotive engineers are approaching retirement age, so opportunities are likely to increase between now and 2019.

Most locomotive engineers in New Zealand are employed by:

• KiwiRail, which runs freight and long distance passenger trains, and owns TranzMetro, which runs the Wellington urban rail network
• Veolia, which runs the Auckland urban rail network.

About 70 other small operators employ locomotive engineers, working with large industries or running tourist ventures.

Most locomotive engineers work in Wellington and Auckland, which are the only two New Zealand cities with urban rail networks.

However, freight and/or long distance passenger train locomotive engineers also work from depots in:

• Hamilton
• Mt Maunganui
• New Plymouth
• Napier
• Palmerston North
• Westport
• Christchurch
• Timaru
• Dunedin
• Invercargill.