The Parliamentary Special was the first passenger train to travel between Wellington and Auckland entirely
by rail.
It carried 44 parliamentarians including the Prime Minister of the time, Sir Joseph Ward, to greet the United States Navy’s “Great White Fleet” which was visiting Auckland in August 1908.
The Public Works Department laid track between the then yet-to-be-joined railheads to allow this special train to run.
ONTRACK in partnership with heritage rail operators, KiwiRail and supporting sponsors recreated the running of the train over three days.
Pictures of the Parliamentary Special journey will be available in October on our redesigned website. Images are free to use for reproduction under the agreement that ONTRACK (New Zealand Railways Corporation) is credited accordingly.
Schedule
The Parliamentary Special ran on:
Wed 6 Aug: Wellington – Taihape
Thurs 7 Aug: Taihape – Taumarunui
Fri 8 Aug: Taumarunui – Auckland
NIMT Centenary Introduction
History of the NIMT
The Last Spike
Media Release - Heritage Train To Mark Centenary Celebrations
CONTACT the Project team
Phone ++64-4-4959060
Fax ++64-4-4959045
Email NIMT_project@ontrack.govt.nz