Transport Safety Blog New Zealand
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What Happened To Christchurch’s Commuter Trains (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this article we took a look at how the local government system in Canterbury and elsewhere has evolved to the present day, and how the management of public transport in the Greater Christchurch area, which was under regional control from the 1890s until 1989, appears to have been briefly held by…
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The rise and fall of NZ First rail advocacy
In the 2014 New Zealand elections, the New Zealand First party sought to steal the limelight on promotion of the railway network. The party announced a “Railways of National Importance” campaign, an obvious counter to the National Party’s Roads of National Significance proposals. Whilst many of the corridors mentioned were existing ones, the policies also…
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Taieri Gorge Railway vs Otago Central Rail Trail Saga [3]
So then, we come to the question of the future of the Taieri Gorge Railway in its current form, the subject of this third article in TSBNZ’s current series of articles about the controversy that is currently being highlighted over the future of the present railway corridor. There are three possible options for the future…
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Taieri Gorge Railway vs Otago Central Rail Trail Saga [2]
Welcome to Part [2] of this series about the TGR-OCRT saga currently playing out in Dunedin and national local governance and rail heritage circles. Part 1 was an introduction to the saga that looked at how the Taieri Gorge Railway was established, its recent history, and a comparison with its nearest pure-rail-heritage equivalent, the Weka…
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Taieri Gorge Railway vs Otago Central Rail Trail Saga [1]
This is Part [1] of a planned series of three articles on the current TGR-OCRT saga, whereby the future of the Taieri Gorge Railway is suggested to be as a conversion into an extension of the Otago Central Rail Trail. This is shaping up to be quite a controversy in 2023 and has involved much…
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OETT Proposes Joint Operation of Taieri Gorge Railway with GVR
Otago Excursion Train Trust has proposed a joint operation with Glenbrook Vintage Railway to operate Dunedin Railways. Currently, Dunedin Railways is operated on behalf of its sole shareholder, Dunedin City Holdings Ltd, which in turn is owned by Dunedin City Council. OETT was a founding shareholder of Dunedin Railways (then called Taieri Gorge Railway Ltd,…
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HSC ALBAYZIN 1994-2023 (Cook Strait Ferry 1994-1995)
HSC Albayzin was the class leader of the “Mestral” class high speed monohull ferries, commenced in 1993 for Compañía Trasmediterránea at Empresa Nacional Bazán shipyard in San Fernando (Cadiz). During construction the ownership changed to Los Cipreses SA of Argentina, trading as Buquebus operating ferry services between Argentina and Uruguay. There were three Mestral class…
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What Happened To Christchurch’s Commuter Trains (Part 1)
On 30 April 1976, the last remaining commuter train service in North Canterbury, the Christchurch to Rangiora workers’ train service, closed down. Since that time there have been no commuter train services operated in the Christchurch area. The commuter trains in Canterbury, which at one point included New Zealand’s first electric train passenger network, were…
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Kiwirail Needs Better Approach To Nuisance Alarm Activations
On Friday 21 July, a car was hit by a Wairarapa Connection commuter train at the Norfolk Road, Waingawa level crossing. This incident appears to be one of a number of problems that have occurred in relation to the railway crossings at Waingawa, a great deal of these problems being due to poor design and…