Northern Explorer

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Overlander at Waiouru

The Northern Explorer is a long-distance passenger train service between Auckland and Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand . The line has been operated by the Kiwi Rail Scenic Journeys division of KiwiRail since October 1, 2008 and is 100% state-owned again.

Until 2012 this train connection was called Overlander and from December 1991 it replaced the train pair previously operated under the name Silver Fern on the North Island Main Trunk Railway . Since the night connection operated under the name Northerner was discontinued , it has been the only passenger connection on this route between Pukekohe and Palmerston North .

Imminent cessation of operations

In July 2006, the operating company Toll Rail announced that it would cease operations with effect from September 30, 2006. This step was justified by the fact that passenger traffic on this line would only incur losses.

Due to massive protests from the public, the connection was continued, but with a thinned schedule. The trains only run daily in summer and Easter, and in winter only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

In 2012, the Overlander was replaced by the new Northern Explorer train connection due to the decline in passenger numbers. This train now runs with new rolling stock, but only three times a week in each direction.

Hold

The trains currently need around 12 hours for the 680 km route.

In Taumarunui there used to be a locomotive change and there was a train station restaurant there. There is a 45-minute stop in National Park, during which time there is an opportunity to have lunch in the restaurant. This is also where the trains meet.

Abandoned stops

Between Pukekohe and Hamilton

  • Te Kauwhata (abandoned April 2005)
  • Huntly (abandoned April 2005)

Between Hamilton and Otorohanga

  • Te Awamutu (retired April 2005)

Between Tamarunui and National Park (previous trains before 1980)

  • Manunui
  • Piriaka
  • Kakahi (during the times of steam operation, changing locomotives)
  • Owhango
  • Oio
  • Raurimu

Between Ohakune and Marton

  • Waiouru - the highest train station on the route (abandoned April 2005)
  • Taihape (abandoned April 2005, operational again since October 2009)

Between Levin and Paraparaumu

  • Otaki (abandoned April 2005)
  • Waikanae (retired April 2005)

When the train was renamed Northern Explorer on June 25, 2012, numerous stops were again given up: Middlemore, Pukekohe, Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, Taihape, Marton, Feilding, Levin, Paraparaumu and Porirua.

The Britomart Transport Center is no longer the starting point of the train in Auckland since December 21, 2015. Instead, the train now stops at Auckland The Strand station , part of the platforms of the former Auckland Central Station that closed with the opening of the Britomart Transport Center.

swell

  • Churchman, Geoffrey B .; Hurst, Tony: The Railways Of New Zealand - A Journey Through History , HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) (for 1st edition 1990), transpress New Zealand, Wellington (2nd edition 2000), ISBN 0-908876-20-3
  1. ↑ Northern Explorer's new Auckland station now open. December 21, 2015, accessed January 1, 2016 .

Web links