Various operators run trains on our network to transport freight and people. Here you can find out more about the North Island lines, what they carry, and how the rail network links to the South Island.
Northland linesThe North Auckland Line links Auckland with the far north. It ends in the Bay of Islands and has branches to Dargaville and Okaihau. In was once an important means of moving bulk goods but more cargo is now transported by trucks.
The line is still used to move dairy and forestry products, general goods and china clay - mainly from north to south.
The line currently does not link with Marsden Point, but the Northland Regional Council and ONTRACK are working on a proposal to set up a rail link between the port and the railway line.
In the south, the line is used for suburban commuter services from west Auckland into the city.
Traffic on the North Auckland Line includes:
- logs
- dairy products
- china clay
- general goods.
Auckland metro rail
Suburban rail in Auckland runs on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT), the North Auckland Line that branches off the NIMT at Westfield and turns westward at Newmarket, and the Newmarket branch line that links the two major lines between Newmarket and Parnell.
Suburban services are provided on behalf of Auckland local authorities by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA). ARTA contracts Veolia to operate the services.
Upgrade of the Auckland metro linesHistorically, patronage has been low, but government and local government investment in the tracks and trains has led to a rise in passenger numbers of more than 30% in the past year.
The Government is investing more than $1 billion to improve infrastructure. Major projects include electrification, double-tracking the Western Line, improving signalling and establishing a rail link between Manukau City and the North Island Main Trunk.
The Auckland metro lines carried five million passengers in the 2005-06 year and numbers are growing.
Auckland to Tauranga, Waikato to Bay of PlentyThe railway lines between Auckland and Tauranga, known from Hamilton to Tauranga as the East Coast Main Trunk, are the busiest freight routes in the country.
Containerised goods travel both ways between the Port of Tauranga and Auckland and bulk cargoes travel to and from Tauranga.
Despite rail carrying a lot of cargo, there is heavy road congestion in the area. Increasing the volume of goods carried on rail has the potential to reduce congestion, make the roads safer and benefit the environment by reducing exhaust emissions.
In the eastern Bay of Plenty, logging trucks create their own issues for motorists and road workers.
Traffic on the Auckland to Tauranga lines includes:
- inbound and outbound container traffic
- outbound steel from Glenbrook
- inbound coal for Huntly power station
- outbound coal from Huntly mines forest products from Eastern Bay of Plenty
- aggregate from Pokeno quarries.
Auckland to ChristchurchThe Auckland to Christchurch rail line is a good option for those moving freight that doesn’t need to get there in a hurry. Containerised general freight moves predominantly north to south, traversing the North Island Main Trunk, Cook Strait via rail ferry and the Main North Line (Picton to Christchurch).
Traffic on the Auckland to Christchurch line includes:
- containerised goods
- forestry products from the central North Island to Wellington.
Wellington metro linesWellington metro lines are the busiest in the country. More than 2,200 suburban services a week operate on four separate lines – Wellington to Paraparaumu, Wellington to the Hutt Valley and Masterton, Wellington to Johnsonville and Wellington to Melling (Lower Hutt). A daily passenger service also operates between Palmerston North and Wellington.
Toll NZ, operating as Tranz Metro, runs suburban services on contract to the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
A major upgrade to both infrastructure and rolling stock is currently in progress.
The Wellington metro lines carried 11 million passengers in the 2005-06 year.
Lower North Island linesThe lines take rail into Taranaki in the west and Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay and Poverty Bay in the east. In the east, the Wairarapa Line links Wellington with the Palmerston North Gisborne Line. In the west, the Marton New Plymouth Line is an important link for the dairy industry, while the Stratford to Okahukura line links Taranaki with the North Island Main Trunk.
The lines provide exporters access to Port of Napier, west to Westgate, north to Tauranga and Auckland and south to Centreport. The distribution centres in Palmerston North lie at the centre of the network.
Traffic on the lower North Island lines includes:
- bulk and finished milk products
- containerised meat and canned goods
- fertiliser
- urea.