Main North Line
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The Main North Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is an important railway line in New Zealand that runs north from Christchurch up the east coast of the South Island to Picton. It is a major link in New Zealand's national rail network and offers a connection with roll-on roll-off ferries in Picton to Wellington. It was also the longest railway construction project in New Zealand's history, with the first stages built in the 1870s but the entire line was not completed until 1945.
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[edit] Construction
The first proposal for a line linking Blenheim with Christchurch was put before the Marlborough Provincial Council in April 1861. Work on a line did not begin for a number of years, however; in the 1870s, the Canterbury Provincial Railways began to extend their 1,600mm (5'3") broad gauge network north from Christchurch through Kaiapoi and Rangiora, reaching Amberley in 1876 and Waipara in 1880 - by this stage, the Canterbury network had been re-aligned to the national uniform gauge of 1,067mm (3'6") narrow gauge and acquired by the central government. At the other end of the line, progress had been made in Marlborough, with a line opened between Blenheim and Picton. Nelson also sought a connection to the national network, possibly via an extension of the east coast main line or a branch line from it, and the first portion of the Nelson Section railway south had opened in 1877.
In the 1880s, work ground to a halt as debate raged over what route to construct. An 1880 Royal Commission on the state of New Zealand's railways felt that an east coast main line would be premature, but possibly necessary in the future. Contrarily, regional actors in Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson, and the West Coast argued passionately in favour of the proposals that best suited their interests. Canterbury slowly progressed with its 'Great Northern Railway' and pursued an inland route from Waipara, reaching Waikari in 1882, Medbury in 1884, and Culverden in 1886. Also in 1882, the Middle Island Railway Extension Commission ('Middle Island' then being the name for the South Island) was established to study proposals for a line northwards, including the following:
- A route from Culverden to Hanmer Springs and Tophouse, with the line splitting into two branches in Tophouse, one to Nelson and one down the Wairau River valley to Blenheim.
- A route from Culverden up the Waiau River to Reefton, New Zealand, establishing a trans-Alpine route to the West Coast, followed by a line up the Buller Gorge to Nelson. (At this stage, no route for the Midland Line connecting the east and west coasts had been chosen; this was one of a number of candidates.)
- A route from Waipara up the coast to Blenheim via Parnassus and Kaikoura.
Interests in Marlborough favoured the coastal proposal and began work on extending their railway south from Blenheim. Canterbury appeared indecisive on a route north; once Culverden was reached in 1886, it was treated as the terminus of the east coast main line, then after roughly 15 years of inactivity, work began on a coastal "branch" north from Waipara at the start of the 20th century. This reached Scargill in 1902, Ethelton in 1905, Domett in 1907, Cheviot in 1910 (the station was actually situated in a nearby locality called Mina), and in 1912, the line crossed the Waiau River with a 706m long bridge and was opened to Parnassus. Over the next two years, work progressed from Parnassus up the Leader River valley, with roughly three kilometres of track laid, a few more kilometres of formation made, and work commenced on a bridge across the Leader River, with the line envisaged to then follow a series of inland valleys (such as those of the Conway and Charwell Rivers) to Kaikoura. It was then that the outbreak of World War I led to a halt on construction and the track beyond Parnassus removed. At the other end of the line, work south from Blenheim had completed a line through Seddon and Ward, but the onset of war meant that its construction halted too, with the southern terminus in Wharanui.
Not all work was postponed by the war. A campaign to extend the line from Culverden to Waiau had proven successful and construction continued through the wartime years, with the line opened to Waiau on 15 December 1919. This boosted the hopes of those seeking an inland route, and more work was undertaken, with 3km of formation built for a line from Waiau to Kaikoura, but ultimately nothing came of this proposal and the terminus remained in Waiau. The 1920s saw little progress made on the Main North Line as various interest groups, governments, and expert reports contested to achieve their respective desired outcomes. At this stage, both the Leader Valley and Tophouse routes were still possibilities, but it was around this time that proposals of a route out of Parnassus in a more easterly direction than the Leader Valley began to be formulated. This would become the present-day route.
In the late 1920s, construction finally recommenced on on the coastal line south of Wharanui, but this soon stopped again when the Great Depression's effects began to be severely felt. Public pressure for a resumption of work was strong, and as the economy was starting to improve in 1936, the government issued orders with completion to be achieved in four years. In 1939, the line beyond Parnassus was opened to Hundalee, but then the outbreak of World War II created more delays and the goal of completion in four years was not achieved. However, construction did continue through the war years, and not long after the resumption of peace, the northern and southern railheads met in Kaikoura. The Main North Line from Christchurch to Picton was completed and officially opened on 15 December 1945.
[edit] Operation
For a number of decades before the connection of the northern and southern ends, the Canterbury section was operated with its terminus in Culverden, even when the coastal route reached Parnassus. The most important passenger train was the Culverden Express, with carriages detached in Waipara for conveyance to Parnassus. The express was supplemented by multiple slower mixed trains that carried both passengers and goods, and when the Waiau Branch reached Waiau in 1919, one goods train per day between Christchurch and Culverden was added to the schedule and the passenger train operated twice daily; these services progressed to Waiau thrice weekly. The section of the Main North Line between Christchurch and Rangiora also saw commuter services and trains from the Oxford Branch and Eyreton Branch.
In the mid-1920s, Parnassus became the primary terminus and the carriages detached in Waipara were conveyed to Culverden. During this period, the train was used for trials of the 'Midland Red' paint scheme that came to be used nationwide for passenger carriages until the 1990s.
In 1930, a Royal Commission on New Zealand's railways suggested all passenger services on the southern and northern sections be replaced by "mixed" trains, but this was not positively received by the public. However, on 29 January 1939, the passenger services on the Waiau line were cancelled.
When the line was completed, the Picton Express began operating directly between Christchurch and Picton. It did not last long as a carriage train; a decade after it commenced, the RM class 88 seater railcars were introduced to New Zealand and they were placed in service on the runs between Christchurch and Picton.
The scenic value of the route, especially through the Kaikoura area, led to the creation of the tourist-focused Coastal Pacific, an express passenger train that ran between Christchurch and Picton in 5 hours and 20 minutes. It began on 25 September 1988 and runs today under the name TranzCoastal. For the summer of 1994/1995, an extra service operated under the name of the Lynx Express. It met the Lynx fast ferry service in Picton and ran to a quicker timetable than the Coastal Pacific. It was unsuccessful and did not operate in subsequent summers.
[edit] Branch lines
The Main North Line parts from the Main South Line in Christchurch, and unlike the Main South Line, few branch lines diverged from the Main North Line. The three that did were:
- Eyreton Branch (junction in Kaiapoi, closed in 1954)
- Oxford Branch (junction in Rangiora, closed in 1959)
- Waiau Branch (junction in Waipara, closed in 1978)
In 1960, work commenced on a line to link Nelson and Blenheim, but a change of government led to a change in policy and this project was halted. Presently, no lines branch from the Main North Line, though the first 13km of the Waiau Branch has been restored as the Weka Pass Railway and it retains a connection to the Main North Line in Waipara.
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey Through History, HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand), 1991 reprint
- Leitch, David, and Scott, Brian; Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, Grantham House, 1998 revised edition
| New Zealand Railway Lines |
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Main lines
North Island:
South Island:
Main North Line and Main South Line, known together as the South Island Main Trunk
Secondary lines
North Island:
Marton - New Plymouth Line • North Auckland Line • Palmerston North - Gisborne Line • Stratford - Okahukura Line • Wairarapa Line (inc. Hutt Valley Line)
South Island:
Midland Line • Nelson Section • Otago Central Railway • Stillwater - Westport Line • Waimea Plains Railway
Branch lines
Upper North Island
Cambridge • Dargaville • Donnelly's Crossing • Glen Afton • Kinleith • Kumeu-Riverhead • Mount Maunganui • Murupara • Newmarket • Okaihau • Onehunga • Onerahi • Opua • Rotorua • Taneatua • Thames • Waiuku and Mission Bush
Lower North Island
Upper South Island
Blackball and Roa • Cape Foulwind • Conns Creek • Eyreton • Fairlie • Little River • Lyttelton • Methven • Mount Somers • Oxford • Rapahoe • Rewanui • Hokitika/Ross • Seddonville • Southbridge • Waiau • Waimate • Whitecliffs
Lower South Island
Bluff • Catlins River • Dunback and Makareao • Fernhill • Hedgehope • Kingston • Kurow • Moeraki • Mossburn • Ngapara and Tokarahi • Outram • Port Chalmers • Roxburgh • Shag Point • Tapanui • Tokanui • Tuatapere • Waikaia • Waikaka • Wairio • Walton Park • Wyndham
Private lines
Glen Massey Branch • Dunedin Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway • Dun Mountain Railway • Hutt Park Railway • Kaitangata Line • Sanson Tramway • Wellington and Manawatu Railway
Significant proposals
Canterbury Interior Main Line • Nelson Railway Proposals • Taupo Railway Proposals • Wainuiomata Railway Proposals |
