In fact calling it a service is as far from the truth as one could possibly get. So what is there? As far as the main urban areas go, there is a little bit of a passenger service in the Wellington region and obviously Auckland had a reasonable network - when it is running that is. Quite how Auckland Transport and KiwiRail get away with cancelling train services almost every weekend and during most of the public holidays is beyond me. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where the transport operators would be allowed to curtail passengers services of the country’s most populous city on such a regular basis. But they are and they do. Frequently. So a city of around 1.5 million people is without a train service each and every weekend and over the four week holiday period..
And what about inter-city services? Well there aren’t any. Not at a frequency that you could call a service. The nearest city to Auckland is Hamilton and admittedly there is a train ‘service’ that connects the two metropolises. It runs twice a day but only once on a Saturday, if you’re lucky. And speed? Well it is some way off a high-speed service. The 120km trip takes just under two hours. An average speed of a little over 60kph.
There is another service in the north island but that is geared more towards tourists and the terminally patient. A trip from Auckland, the largest city, to Wellington, the capital, can be completed by train. But only on a Monday and a Wednesday, taking over 11 hours to complete and costs around $300. Time and cost aside, it is worth doing once, as we have, but it’s not a commuter service. Not by a long shot.
The other two long distance services are in the South Island and, with us finding a free weekend at the start of the summer, we decided to try them out; the Coastal Pacific and the Tranz Alpine. Or to put it in geographical terms, Picton to Christchurch along the east coast, then Christchurch to Greymouth via the southern alps.
If time and budget was unlimited one could, in theory, jump on a train in Auckand and travel the length of the North Island to Wellington. Catch the Inter-Islander ferry and continue the journey southward by rail from Picton.
We didn’t have the time so we took a flight from Auckland to Blenheim in Malborough to pick up the Coastal Pacific scenic train. Relying on a flight connection to catch the only train of the day was a gamble but we needn’t have worried…..the flight was on time and the train was late. Ah well. Quite how a train could be late only one hour into a six hour journey is a question for another day.
Grumbles aside, it was well worth the effort. It was a glorious day with great views out across the ocean as the train wound its way down the coast, often so close that sea spray would douse the windows.
If the first day was stunning then superlatives wouldn’t be adequate for the second day of the train. The train westward out of Christchurch is unassuming - mostly light industrial buildings on the outskirts of the city and then the expanses of flat farmland as the train crossed the Canterbury Plain. So far, so-so.
Then, once the train entered the foothills of the alps…oh my word! What a dramatic change. Snow-capped mountain peaks towered over narrow glacial valleys. Bridges crossed steep ravines, with tumultuous turquoise rivers hundreds of metres below. Staring transfixed out of the carriage window I never wanted it to end.
But end it must because Greymouth in the west coast is where the line ends, at least for rail passengers. Another victim of New Zealand’s ever shrinking rail network. So the only thing to do was to grab a bite to eat, get some provisions for the return journey and head back the way we came.
And, if I was feeling particularly introspective, that could be a metaphor for life. Time to turn around and go home. The end of one journey and the start of another. Maybe I’ll write about it one day!
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