Kaimai Express

The Kaimai Express was a long distance passenger train operated by the Tranz Scenic division of Tranz Rail (previously the New Zealand Rail Limited division InterCity Rail) which ran between the North Island cities of Auckland and Tauranga via Hamilton. It utilised the Silver Fern railcars and operated from 9 December 1991 until 7 October 2001.

Background

In 1928, when the East Coast Main Trunk Railway was opened as far as Taneatua, its furthest extent, a passenger train commenced operating from Auckland to Taneatua on a slow 12 hour schedule. Within a year, this was upgraded to 10.5 hours and named the Taneatua Express. For much of its life, it ran only twice or thrice weekly.

In 1959, the Taneatua Express was replaced by a daily railcar service utilising 88 seater railcars, but due to negligible traffic to Taneatua, the new service only operated to Te Puke. This service did not last long, as the circuitous rail route struggled to compete with private cars. Its cancellation was effective from 11 September 1967, and until 1991, the only passenger services that operated on the route were special excursions.

Operation

In 1991, the Silver Ferns that operated the daily services between Wellington and Auckland were replaced by the locomotive-hauled Overlander, and accordingly, new routes were found for the Silver Ferns. These were the Geyserland Express to Rotorua and the Kaimai Express to Tauranga. The train's name came from the Kaimai Tunnel through the Kaimai Ranges; this tunnel was opened on 12 September 1978 and provided a much quicker and more direct route to the Bay of Plenty. This meant services operated substantially quicker than the previous Taneatua Express and 88 seater railcars.

The first Kaimai Express ran on 9 December 1991 and consisted of a morning service from Tauranga to Auckland and afternoon service from Auckland to Tauranga. The train took roughly 3.5 hours to operate in each direction.

In 2000 timings were changed to enable the introduction of the Waikato Connection commuter service between Hamilton and Auckland. The southbound service departed Auckland at 8:20am and reached Tauranga 3 hours and 31 minutes later at 11:51am. The northbound service left Tauranga at 1:05pm and reached Auckland at 4:34pm, 3 hours and 29 minutes later.

Consideration was made at one point by Tranz Rail to extend the Kaimai Express service to Mount Maunganui, but this did not eventuate.

The Kaimai Express did not make a financial profit, and in 2001, it was announced that the service was too uneconomic for Tranz Rail to continue. No subsidies came forth from the government to sustain the Kaimai Express's operation, and no private companies wished to invest in it. It was accordingly cancelled and operated for the final time on 7 October 2001.

External links

* [http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/new_zealand/trains/kaimaiexpress.html Kaimai Express timetable and information]