List of passenger trains in New Zealand
In the past, New Zealand had numerous passenger train connections on its rail routes , some of which are listed here. Today only three long-distance trains as well as local and commuter trains remain in the metropolitan areas of Auckland and Wellington .
North island
| Train name (s) | Train route | Railway line (s) | operating receptive |
Cessation of operations |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Daylight Limited (1925–1963), Scenic Daylight (1963–1968), Blue Streak (1968–1972), Silver Fern (1972–1991), Overlander (1991–2012), Northern Explorer (since 2012) |
Auckland - Wellington | North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT) | 1908 | in operation | |
|
Night Limited (1924–1971), Silver Star (1971–1979), Northerner (1975–2004) |
Auckland - Wellington | NIMT | 1908 | 2004 | night Train |
| MAXX | Britomart Transport Center in Auckland - Auckland hinterland | NIMT, North Auckland Line and others | in operation | Local transport in the greater Auckland area | |
| Waikato Connection | Hamilton - Auckland | NIMT | 2000 | 2001 | Commuter trains |
| Taneatua Express | (Auckland -) Hamilton - Taneatua | (NIMT,) East Coast Main Trunk Railway (ECMT) |
1884 (section), 1938 | 1959 (partially discontinued), 1967 | |
| Kaimai Express | Auckland - Tauranga | NIMT, ECMT | 1991 | 2001 | |
|
Rotorua Express (1894–1930, 1937–1959), Rotorua Limited (1930–1937), Geyserland Express (1991–2001) |
Auckland - Rotorua | NIMT, ECMT | 1894, 1991 | 1968, 2001 | |
| Thames Express (1908-1928) | (Auckland -) Frankton - Thames | (NIMT,) ECMT | 1908 | 1947 | |
|
Northland Express (1925-1956), Opua Express |
Auckland - Whangarei (- Opua ) | North Auckland Line | 1925 | 1976 | |
| New Plymouth Night Express | Auckland - New Plymouth | 1933 | 1983 | ||
| Taranaki Flyer | Wanganui - New Plymouth | 1926 | 1959 | ||
| Napier - Gisborne | ?, 1978 | 1976, 1988 | Line closed in 1988 after storm damage | ||
|
Napier Express (1891–1954), Endeavor (1972–1989), Bay Express (1989–2001) |
Wellington - (Palmerston North -) Napier | 1891 | 2001 | ||
| New Plymouth Express (1886–1955) | Wellington - New Plymouth | 1886 | 1977 | ||
| Capital Connection | Palmerston North - Wellington | NIMT | in operation | Commuter trains | |
| Wairarapa Mail (1909-1948) | Wellington - Masterton - Woodville (- Palmerston North ) | Hutt Valley Line | 1909 | 1963 | Part of the route taken over by the Wairarapa Connection |
| Wairarapa Connection | Wellington - Masterton | Hutt Valley Line | 1964 | in operation | Commuter trains |
| Metlink | Wellington Railway Station - Wellington Outskirts | NIMT, Hutt Valley Line, and Johnsonville Line | in operation | Local transport in the Greater Wellington area |
South island
| Train name (s) | Train route | Railway line (s) | operating receptive |
Cessation of operations |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Culverden Express (1886–1945), Picton Express (1945–1956), Coastal Pacific Express (? -2000), Lynx Express (1994–1996) TranzCoastal (2000–2011), Coastal Pacific (since 2011) |
Christchurch - Picton | South Island Main Trunk Railway (Main North Line) | 1886 (part of the route), 1945 (entire route) |
in operation | Lynx Express started / ended in Picton at the ferry terminal with a connection to the fast ferries The Lynx |
|
West Coast Express , TranzAlpine (since 1987) |
Christchurch - Greymouth | Midland Line | in operation | ||
|
South Island Limited (1949-1970), The Southerner (1970-2002) |
Christchurch - Dunedin (- Invercargill ) | South Island Main Trunk Railway (Main South Line) | 1879 (part of the route), 1904 (entire route) |
2002 | temporarily operated additional trains on sections of the route |
| Seasider | Dunedin - Palmerston | in operation | seasonal tourist train | ||
| Kingston Flyer | Kingston - Fairlight (- Gore ) | 1886, 1971 | 1957, 2012 | since 1937 only as a seasonal tourist train |