Otago Central Rail Trail

	0.0	Middlemarch
	6.5	Ngapuna
	13.5	Rock and Pillar
	27.5	Hyde
	34.0	Tiroiti
	42.0	Kokonga
	52.5	Waipiata
	60.0	Ranfurly
	73.5	Wedderburn
	85.5	Oturehua
	93.5	Ida Valley
	97.5	Auripo
	101.0	Poolburn Viaduct
	108.0	Lauder
	115.0	Omakau
	127.0	Chatto Creek
	137.0	Galloway
	144.0	Alexandra
	152.0	Clyde

The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 152 km long hiking and cycling trail in the region Otago on the South Island of New Zealand . The path, which is open for walking, cycling and horse riding, is on the former track bed of the Otago Central Railways , which ran from Middlemarch to Clyde .

geography

Starting point of the Otago Central Rail Trail in Middlemarch

Memorial plaque for the opening on November 19, 1995

Starting from Middlemarch, the Otago Central Rail Trail crosses the plain of Strath Taieri in a northerly direction to Hyde and then follows the Taieri River around the northern end of the Rock and Pillar Range to the west. From Waipiata via Ranfurly to Wedderburn the route then runs almost in a straight line northwest through the Maniototo Plain and finally makes an arc to the west through the Ida Valley from the highest point of the route, at the northern end of Rough Ridge . Then it goes to the southwest, about Omakau through the valley of Manuherikia Rivers , Alexandra contrary. From the 90-degree turn to the northwest in Alexandra it is only 8 km to the end point in the city of Clyde, which is on the Clutha River .

history

Construction of the Otago Central Railways began in 1879. The line was finally completed 42 years later with the expansion to Cromwell . The section, which is now mainly used as a side path, was then realized in 4 construction phases (1898 to Ranfurly, 1904 to Omakau, 1906 to Alexandra and 1907 to Clyde).

The entire railway line from Dunedin to Cromwell has been the backbone of the economic development of the heartland of the Otago region for almost 100 years. But better and more flexible transport options on the road network that had been developed over the years made the operation of the railway line increasingly uneconomical.

In December 1989, the Minister of Railways, Richard William Prebble finally announced that the operation of the entire route of the Otago Central Railway would be completely suspended on April 30, 1990.

The Clyde-Cromwell section had previously fallen victim to the Lake Dunstan dam project . The southern 64 km long section from Wingatui to Middlemarch was rescued by the Otago Excursion Train Trust and the City of Dunedin and expanded for the museum railway of the Taieri Gorge Railway . The remaining section from Middlemarch to Clyde was finally taken over by the Department of Conservation , removed the tracks, secured the tunnels and prepared the bridges for public use. On November 19, 1995, the first section of the Otago Central Rail Trail from Middlemarch to Hyde was inaugurated by the Minister of Conservation, Denis Marshall, and presented to the public. Until the official opening in February 2000, restoration of the remaining sections to Clyde followed.

today

On the Otago Central Rail Trail

The Otago Central Rail Trail is now an integral part of the tourist offer of Dunedin and the Otago region. The report by the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust from 2008 shows that this is not just about vacation and leisure activities. According to this, 552 summer jobs with 235 part-time jobs depend on the 152 km route, particularly in the peak months of February and March are required. That is not enough, one is currently thinking about how to get the tourists on the trail even in the particularly weak winter months .

literature

Carla Jellum, Arianne Reis, Otago Central Rail Trail - Economic Impact and Trends Survey 2008 , Otago Central Rail Trail Trust, Alexandra, Otago, New Zealand, 2008.

Web links

Homepage . Otago Central Rail Trail Charitable Trust,accessed September 3, 2014.
Homepage . Otago Rail Trail,accessed September 3, 2014(website with useful information but of commercial interest).
Otago Central Rail Trail . Department of Conservation ,accessed September 3, 2014.
The History of the Taieri Gorge Railway . Taieri Gorge Limited, archived from the original onDecember 18, 2013; accessed on December 31, 2015(English, original website no longer available).
Otago Central Rail Trail . Toursprung GmbH's bikeweb.net,accessed on September 3, 2014(English, interactive website with the route).

Individual evidence

^ The History of the Taieri Gorge Railway . Taieri Gorge Limited , archived from the original on December 18, 2013 ; accessed on December 31, 2015 (English, original website no longer available).
↑ Memorial plaque at the starting point of the Otago Central Rail Trail in Middlemarch

[Taieri_Gorge_Railway-1] The History of the Taieri Gorge Railway . Taieri Gorge Limited , archived from the original on December 18, 2013 ; accessed on December 31, 2015 (English, original website no longer available).

[2] Memorial plaque at the starting point of the Otago Central Rail Trail in Middlemarch