New Zealand

Country details

See Wikipedia

National railway system

KiwiRail operates both infrastructure and, as Great Journeys of New Zealand, long-distance passenger trains. Local services in the Auckland and Wellington areas are provided by KiwiRail or other operators, usually under contract to regional councils who then provide publicity and service information. Details are shown by operator below.

Infrastructure

• Gauge: 1067mm (3 feet 6 inches)
• Electrification:
  • 25kV 50Hz AC: between Hamilton and Palmerston North (the central section of the North Island Main Trunk Line); and in the Auckland suburban area
  • 1500V DC: in the Wellington suburban area (the 1500V DC electrification between Arthur's Pass and Otira was taken out of use in 1997)
• Rule of the road: left, but much of the network is single track

Maps

• Printed: Quail Map Company: New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas, 4th edition (ISBN: 0 900609 92 3) was published in 1993. It is now out of print but may be available second-hand.
• Online: none known

Ticketing

Tickets are not interavailable between operators, even those using shared routes.

Rail Operators

Great Journeys of New Zealand

Great Journeys of New Zealand (GJNZ) is the brand used by KiwiRail for their long-distance passenger trains. These services are now largely intended for tourists, and some routes only operate during the (Southern Hemisphere) summer period. There is a useful guide at the Man In Seat 61 site.

• timetable: see Train timetables page; there is no separate journey planner or downloadable timetable
• summary timetables are available in some editions of the European Rail Timetable
• there does not appear to be any real-time information or service disruption information

Auckland Transport

Auckland Transport (AT) manages all transportation services in the Auckland Council area (extending well beyond the city itself). Suburban rail services are operated by Auckland One Rail under contract to AT. All service information is provided by AT.

• maps: Auckland train network
• journey planner (all modes): website front page
• timetables: Timetables
• service status: Train lines running today
• planned engineering work: Planned Rail Closures

See also UrbanRail

Te Huia

Te Huia is a regional rail service between Hamilton (Frankton Junction) and Auckland, operated by KiwiRail on behalf of Waikato Regional Council. It uses the same route as GJNZ's Northern Explorer service.

• timetable: timetable (there is no separate journey planner or downloadable timetable)
• service disruptions: disruptions

Metlink

Metlink is the brand used by Greater Wellington Regional Council for all public transport in the council area. Suburban rail services are operated by Transdev Wellington under contract to the council.

• maps: network maps
• journey planner (all modes): website front page
• downloadable timetables: available from the train services page - select a route, click the Timetable button, then the Download button
• service disruptions: train service alerts
• planned engineering work: buses replacing trains

See also UrbanRail

Capital Connection

Capital Connection is a regional rail service between Palmerston North and Wellington, operated by KiwiRail. It uses the same route as GJNZ's Northern Explorer service. The page on the GJNZ site includes timetable information and planned disruptions. A summary timetable is available in some editions of the European Rail Timetable.

Other operators

Various organisations operate regular or occasional tours over the KiwiRail network, often including freight-only lines. These include:

• Dunedin Railways
• Mainline Steam Heritage Trust
• Steam Incorporated
• Marlborough Flyer

Tourist Lines

See Wikipedia

Metro and tram systems

Auckland

The Auckland Dockline Tram is a tourist service, operated by MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology), on a roughly one-mile circuit in the city centre.

• gauge: standard
• electrification: probably 600V DC overhead
• rule of the road: single track throughout

Note that MOTAT also operate a tram line between two of their sites elsewhere in the city.

Christchurch

The Christchurch Tram operates a heritage/tourist service on a "figure of eight" loop in the city centre.

• gauge: standard
• electrification: 600V DC overhead
• rule of the road: single track throughout

Recent and future changes

Recent Changes

The 180 km North Auckland Line, between Whangārei’s Kauri and Swanson in West Auckland, officially reopened on 25 September 2024, after being closed since late January 2023 following storm damage.

South Island

Port Chalmers (lower) – Sawyers Bay [ – Dunedin] NZ01

The 2km branch into the docks at Port Chalmers (a section of the original Dunedin & Port Chalmers Railway) is used by Dunedin Railways specials in connection with visiting cruise liners at Dunedin, to provide ship-side train access. For current scheduled cruise calls see Port Otago's website. Report updated: May 2022

[Dunedin – ] Pukerangi – Middlemarch NZ02

Entry deleted - service withdrawn. Note: Dunedin Railways run only as far as Hindon on the Taieri Gorge line (26.8km from Wingatui Junction).

Lyttelton – Christchurch, Addington West Junction NZ03

Entry deleted - service withdrawn.

Invercargill - Wingatui [ - Dunedin - Sawyers Bay - ] Merton - Rolleston NZ04

The Main South line between Wingatui (junction for Taieri Gorge line) and Merton is used by regular Dunedin Railways services. In the past, rail tours to traverse the whole line between Invercargill and Rolleston (the line north thereof has regular passenger service) have been offered by Dunedin Railways and by Marlborough Flyer: enquire of those operators for possible future such trips. Report updated: March 2024

North Island

Hamilton (Frankton Junction) – Te Puna – Tauranga – Mount Maunganui - Hauone NZ51

Entry deleted - service withdrawn

[Palmerston North, Milson Junction – ] Woodville – Mangatainoka NZ52

Entry deleted - service withdrawn

Palmerston North, Milson Junction – Woodville – Napier – Wairoa – Muriwai – Gisborne NZ53

Entry deleted - service withdrawn

Auckland, Quay Park Junction (Strand station) NZ54

The third side of the triangle at Quay Park Junction has no regular through service but it and its associated platform are used by diesel and steam hauled trains, which are not allowed to use Waitematā (formerly Britomart) station. These include the Northern Explorer Auckland ⇔ Wellington trains - see KiwiRail's web site, Te Huia Hamilton (Frankton Junction) ⇔ Auckland trains - see Te Huia's web site, and steam excursions. When engineering work at Waitematā intervenes local trains may use Strand instead; such diversions appear on Auckland Transport's future works webpage. Report updated: July 2024

Newmarket (Auckland) triangle NZ55

Where the Auckland-Newmarket Line joins the North Auckland (West) Line to Swanson is a full running triangle. All services ⇔ the West Line are normally booked to reverse at Newmarket station, so none uses the direct curve to the West Line. However, when engineering work at Newmarket intervenes trains may use the direct curve; such diversions appear on Auckland Transport's future works webpage. For major sports events at Eden Park, extra trains between Waitematā (formerly Britomart) and Kingsland use this curve when not advertised to call at Newmarket - visit Auckland Transport's events webpages and check Temporary Train Timetables. Report updated: August 2024

Various freight lines NZ56

Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Steam Incorporated and Glenbrook Vintage Railway operate tours when advertised on their websites. Report updated: March 2024

[Waiuku - ] Glenbrook - Paerata Junction NZ57

Glenbrook Vintage Railway operate their regular heritage service between Glenbrook and Waiuku, but occasionally operate special trains through to the Kiwi Rail main line at Paerata (10.95km), as advertised (2024 dates include 31 August, 21 September). Reported: August 2024