Coastal Pacific

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Coastal Pacific with replacement wagons near Kaikoura

The Coastal Pacific is a long-distance passenger train service on the South Island Main Trunk Railway on the South Island of New Zealand , where it operates between Picton and Christchurch .

history

Before the completion of the Picton-Christchurch railway line , freight trains with passenger transport and the Culverden Express operated from Christchurch via Waipara to Culverden on the previously opened sections . The route has been continuously navigable since December 15, 1945, and the Picton Express was launched, providing a daily service between Picton and Christchurch . From 1946 the train only ran three times a week from time to time, from 1956 onwards, Fiat Ferroviaria diesel railcars ran several times a day . These railcars were scrapped in the 1970s. Since then there has been another train of wagons.

Since September 25, 1988, there has been a train specially designed for tourists between Picton and Christchurch . This was initially called Coastal Pacific and was renamed in 1997 in analogy to TranzAlpine in TranzCoastal . After the earthquake in Christchurch on February 22, 2011, the connection was discontinued in order to concentrate resources on the now increasingly necessary freight traffic. On August 15, 2011, she returned to service under her original name, Coastal Pacific . The train is operated by the Kiwi Rail Scenic Journeys division of KiwiRail , the New Zealand state railway .

The Coastal Pacific is only used in the summer months from late September to late April.

Stops

The Coastal Pacific in Picton with the panorama car introduced in 2011

The train serves the following stops on its journey:

The train runs daily during the summer months, leaving Christchurch in the morning and returning to Christchurch from Picton in the afternoon . The train takes about 5½ hours for the journey. In Picton there is a connection to and from the Interislander ferry.

dare

Since November 3, 2011, the Coastal Pacific has been traveling with new rolling stock. Since 1941, these are the first cars to be developed and built entirely in New Zealand. Two panorama cars , a car with a cafeteria, a mixed generator and panorama car and a baggage car went into operation. The production of the vehicles will continue. They will also be used in the TranzAlpine from 2012 onwards .

Kaikoura earthquake

As a result of the Kaikoura earthquake on November 14, 2016, the route of the railway connection from Christchurch to Picton south and north of Kaikoura was severely damaged and partially buried by landslides. The route was completed on December 1, 2018 and has since been reopened for the Coastal Pacific .

literature

  • Geoffrey Churchman, Tony Hurst : The Railways Of New Zealand - A Journey Through History . IPL Transpress , Wellington 2001, ISBN 0-908876-20-3 (English, first edition: HarperCollins Publishers (1990)).

Web links

Commons : Coastal Pacific  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ KiwiRail resumes TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to West Coast . Kiwi Rail , March 7, 2011, accessed August 21, 2011 .
  2. ^ TranzCoastal resumes next month with new identity . Kiwi Rail , July 25, 2011, accessed August 21, 2011 .
  3. ↑ a b homepage . In: The Great Journeys of New Zealand . Kiwi Rail , accessed January 17, 2018 .
  4. ^ KiwiRail's new scenic carriages have entered service on the Coastal Pacific service between Christchurch and Picton . Kiwi Rail , November 23, 2011, accessed November 4, 2011 .
  5. ^ DLA Turner : KiwiRail's New Scenic Carriages On The Coastal Pacific. The only way to go! . In: New Zealand Railfan . December 2011, p.  27-29 (English).