TranzAlpine

A winter cab ride on New Zealand's TranzAlpine, from the Canterbury Plains up the Waimakariri gorge, under the Southern Alps and down to Greymouth on the West Coast.

The route

The TranzAlpine crosses New Zealand's South Island from coast to coast, 223 km from Christchurch to Greymouth. It uses the Main South Line as far as Rolleston and then the Midland Line, which was built to join Canterbury with the coal and timber country of the West Coast across the Southern Alps. The passenger service under the TranzAlpine name began on 22 November 1987.

The hardest engineering lies in the mountains. Through the gorge of the Waimakariri River the line needs 16 tunnels and four viaducts, the tallest of them the Staircase Viaduct, more than 70 m above the river. At the main divide the 8.6 km Otira Tunnel, completed in 1923, carries the railway from Arthur's Pass down to Otira on a steep grade. It was once electrified; today a door closes behind each train so that it pushes the diesel fumes out ahead like a piston.

Freight, especially coal, still uses the Midland Line, but for most visitors the TranzAlpine is a sightseeing train, run by Great Journeys New Zealand, KiwiRail's tourist division, with large windows and an open-air viewing carriage. The journey is often counted among the great scenic rail trips of the world, as much for the change from dry eastern plains to wet western rainforest as for the mountains themselves.

What you will see

This video was filmed in winter from the locomotive cab and may be condensed. From Christchurch the train runs south-west to Rolleston and turns inland across the Canterbury Plains, the country's largest flat land, laid out in long straight fields and shelter belts. The snow-covered ranges grow steadily ahead until the line reaches Springfield at the foot of the hills.

Beyond Springfield the railway climbs into the Waimakariri gorge, running high on the cliffs, in and out of short tunnels and across the tall viaducts, with the braided river far below. It then follows the wide, stony river beds through high country towards Arthur's Pass village, the highest point of the trip, inside Arthur's Pass National Park.

After Arthur's Pass the train enters the long Otira Tunnel and comes out on the wetter West Coast side at Otira. Look for the sudden change to dense green rainforest as the line drops towards Moana on the shore of Lake Brunner, the largest lake on the West Coast, before following the Grey River valley to the end at Greymouth.

Riding it for real

The TranzAlpine is run by Great Journeys New Zealand, part of KiwiRail, with one train each way, leaving Christchurch in the morning and returning from Greymouth in the afternoon, so the round trip fits in a long day. In Christchurch it leaves from the station at Addington, a few kilometres from the city centre. Seats must be booked in advance, and the service has not always run every day of the week in every season.

Many travellers break the journey at Arthur's Pass for walking in the national park, or continue down the West Coast by road. Check Great Journeys New Zealand for current timetables, operating days and fares before you travel.

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