New Zealand Railways Department

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The New Zealand Railways Department, or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways), often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's rail infrastructure, and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation came under the Public Works Department, but eventually the role of operating the rail network was separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 the Railways Department had a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways, who was often also Minister of Public Works.

[edit] Timeline

1876: Public Works Department amalgamates existing provincial railways, including Canterbury Provincial Railways.
1880: Railways Department formed out of Public Works Department; Port Chalmers Railway Company Limited acquired
1886: Waimea Plains Railway Company acquired
1900: Protracted legal battle with New Zealand Midland Railway Company resolved, the partially completed Midland line is acquired by the department
1907: New Zealand Railways Road Services branch formed to operate bus services
1908: Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company acquired; North Island Main Trunk railway completed
1923: The Otira Tunnel is completed, heralding the completion of the Midland Line in the South Island
1928: Ill-fated G class Garratt locomotives introduced. The failure of this class lead to the introduction of the K class in 1932
1931: Transport Licensing Act 1931 is passed, regulating the carriage of goods and entrenching the Railways' monopoly on land transport. The Act was repealed in 1982.
1937: Wellington Railway Station, the Department's head office, completed
1951: The Department introduces the DE class diesel-electric locomotives; replacement of steam locomotives by diesels begins
1952: New Zealand railway network reaches its zenith, with 5,700 km of lines open. EW class electric locomotives introduced for the Wellington electric system
1953: Tangiwai disaster: 151 people die when Wellington - Auckland express is derailed due to a bridge collapse
1954: The Department introduces the DF class, the first mainline diesel-electric locomotives in New Zealand
1955: The DA class diesel-electric locomotives are introduced, and start to displace steam locomotives from the North Island system
1962: The arrival of the Aramoana heralds the introduction of inter-island ferry services by the Department
1968: Introduction of DJ class diesels in the South Island accelerates the demise of steam traction
1970: The Southerner service between Christchurch and Invercargill is introduced
1971: Silver Star, luxury Wellington - Auckland passenger train introduced
1972: Last class of mainline steam locomotives is withdrawn in New Zealand, the Ja class, the first Silver Fern railcars are introduced, and the DX class locomotives, then the most powerful class of locomotives in New Zealand
1978: A major DA class rebuilding programme is launched, creating the DC class
1979: Silver Star passenger train withdrawn due to poor patronage
1981: Corporatised, as the New Zealand Railways Corporation