New Zealand
Country details
See Wikipedia
National railway system
KiwiRail operates both infrastructure and, as Great Journeys of New Zealand, long-distance passenger trains. See also The Man In Seat 61.
Other operators on KiwiRail infrastructure:
- Auckland area
- Auckland One Rail operate suburban rail services under contract to Auckland Transport (a division of Auckland Council); see also UrbanRail
- Te Huia: regional rail service between Hamilton (Frankton Junction) and Auckland, operated by KiwiRail
- Wellington area
- Transdev Wellington operate suburban rail services under contract to Greater Wellington Regional Council; all service information is at Metlink; see also UrbanRail
- Capital Connection: regional rail service between Palmerston North and Wellington, operated by KiwiRail
Various organisations operate regular or occasional tours over the KiwiRail network, often including freight-only lines. These include:
Timetable information
- Great Journeys of New Zealand: website pages for individual routes show timetable details; there is no separate journey planner or downloadable timetable.
- Auckland Transport: journey planner (all modes); system map and downloadable timetables; service announcements (all modes); rail closures (planned engineering work)
- Te Huia: timetable (no separate journey planner or downloadable timetable); disruptions
- Metlink: journey planner (all modes); network maps; downloadable timetables are available but have to be found on pages for individual routes; train service alerts; buses replacing trains (planned engineering work)
- Capital Connection: timetable on the KiwiRail page
Printed timetables may be available as individual route leaflets for any of these services; information would be appreciated by the compilers. Summary timetables for Great Journeys of New Zealand services (and some others) are available in some editions of the European Rail Timetable.
Maps
Printed Maps
- 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.
Web-based Maps
None known
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
Tourist Lines
See Wikipedia
Metro and tram systems
Christchurch
The Christchurch Tram operates a heritage/tourist service on a "figure of eight" loop in the city centre.
