Midland Line, New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Rolleston, New Zealand
Rolleston is a town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, New Zealand.It is located next to State Highway 1, 22 km south-west of Christchurch on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. The town uses the slogan "The Town of the Future"...
and Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel
Otira Tunnel
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the...
.
Freight services
Westland Milk Products
Westland Milk Products is the trading name of Westland Co-operative Dairy Company Limited, an independent co-operative dairy company. It is owned by over 340 farmer shareholders, who supply milk to the factory for processing...
factory at Hokitika. In 2003, Tranz Rail
Tranz Rail
Tranz Rail, formally Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd , was the main rail operator in New Zealand from 1991 until it was purchased by Toll Holdings in 2003.- Formation :...
carried a total of 2.1 million tonnes of coal over the line.
Usually, coal services are headed by two class DX
NZR DX class
The NZR DX class is a class of 49 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives that currently operates on New Zealand's national railway network.Built by General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, they were introduced to New Zealand between 1972 and 1976. The class is based on the General Electric...
locomotives, and consist of 30 coal hopper
Hopper car
A hopper car is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, track ballast, and the like. The name originated from the coke manufacturing industry which is part of the steel industry ....
wagons, with a total capacity of 1,800 tonnes.
On 27 November 2007, it was announced that coking coal from the Pike River Coal mine
Pike River mine
The Pike River Mine is a coal mine operated by Pike River Coal north-northeast of Greymouth in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island....
would be transported to Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
for export. Pike River Coal has reserved under contract with Toll Rail 1.3 million tonnes of capacity for their coal on the line, which since upgrading has a total capacity of 4 million tonnes. However services from the Pike River facility at Rapahoe have been curtailed since the series of explosions that killed 29 miners
Pike River Mine disaster
The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. A first explosion occurred in the mine at approximately 3:44 pm . At the time of the explosion 31...
in November 2010, and the likelihood of further coal being transported from this source is in serious doubt.
The other primary source of coal traffic is from the Solid Energy
Solid Energy
Solid Energy is the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owned enterprise called Coal Corporation in 1987, and...
facility at Ngakawau, north of Westport. Trains to and from Ngakawau use the Midland line as far as the junction with the Stillwater - Westport Line
Stillwater - Westport Line
The Stillwater Ngakawau Line , formerly the Stillwater - Westport Line and the Ngakawau Branch, is a secondary main line, part of New Zealand's national rail network. It runs between Stillwater and Ngakawau via Westport on the West Coast of the South Island...
.
History
Railway development in the South Island in the 1870s was concentrated on a main line linking the established centres of Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill and light, easily constructed branch lines serving the arable plains. These later included a branch to Springfield which was reached by January 1880.In 1882 the East and West Coast Railway League was formed and in 1884 a Royal Commission, although fully aware of the construction difficulties of the Waimakariri Valley-Arthurs Pass route, as compared with the somewhat easier but longer Hurunui Valley-Harpers Pass route, chose the more direct route.
The construction of the line was rejected in 1883 by a Royal Commission, who argued that despite the significant timber and coal resources of the West Coast
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
of the South Island, the line would not be economic, in the face of limited resources during the Premiership of Sir Julius Vogel
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
, although Parliament did pass the East and West Coast and Nelson Railway Act to enable private interests to construct a line. The major obstacle to engineers and politicians was the Southern Alps
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
. In 1886 the New Zealand Midland Railway Company
New Zealand Midland Railway Company
The New Zealand Midland Railway Company partially constructed the Midland line between Christchurch and Greymouth and the Nelson railway in the South Island...
was formed by Nelson and Canterbury business interests to construct the line, and the line from Westport
Westport, New Zealand
-Economy:Economic activity is based around fishing, coal mining and dairy farming. Historically, gold mining was a major industry, and coal mining was much more extensive than today . However, the region still is home to New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation in Stockton...
to Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
, and capital was raised in London by the firm to meet this end. The Company entered into a contract with the Government the same year.
For various reasons, the company managed to complete only 120 km of the line, and the Government exercised its right to take possession of the line in 1895, although protracted legal battles meant that full control was not achieved until 1900, with the line complete as far as Otira
Otira
Otira is a small township seven kilometres north of Arthur's Pass in the central South Island of New Zealand. It is on the western approach to the pass, a saddle between the Otira and Bealey Rivers high in the Southern Alps...
on the western side and Broken River on the eastern (Canterbury) side.
The major obstacle to the route lay immediately ahead: the forcing of the Waimakariri
Waimakariri Gorge
The Waimakariri Gorge is located on the Waimakariri River in inland Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand.Like its neighbour, the Rakaia River, the Waimakariri runs through wide shingle beds for much of its length, but is forced through a narrow canyon as it approaches the Canterbury...
and Broken River gorges, some 8.5 miles (13 km) of the route surveyed by C. Napier Bell in 1883 and described to the Royal Commission by District Engineer W.N. Blair as "very rough, the mountain slope rises from the riverbed while the river runs in a fearful gorge all the way".
The section would include 16 tunnels and four major viaducts not including the Kowai already constructed. The viaducts were built under Treasury contracts by both New Zealand and British bridging firms. The most spectacular of these, the Staircase Viaduct carries the rails 240 feet above the bed of the stream.
It was slow laborious work with men, horses, picks, shovels and very little machinery. It was not until 1906 that trains were running to a temporary terminus at Broken River – in time for the Christchurch Exhibition and at last enabling the journey, by rail and coach, from Greymouth to Christchurch to be completed in one day. Progress slowed after that although the country to be traversed became much easier. Cass was not reached until 1910 and Arthur's Pass township in 1914 – the Westland section meantime having advanced to Otira – to meet the other major obstacle.
Construction of Otira Tunnel
Otira Tunnel
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the...
began in 1907, but progress was very slow, and in the interim the eastern railhead reached Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It marks part of the boundary between the West Coast and Canterbury regions, 140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth. The pass lies in a saddle between the valleys of the Otira River, a...
in 1914. Cobb & Co coaches were used to transport passengers between the two railheads while the tunnel was under construction. The tunnel was finally completed in 1923.
Motive power
The line was unique in New Zealand for its captive use of many different types of locomotives. These locomotives include the KB classNZR Kb class
The NZR KB class of 1939 was a class of mixed traffic steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's railway network. They were built by the New Zealand Railways Department after the success of the K class to meet the increasing traffic demands on the Midland Line in the South Island...
locomotives between Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It marks part of the boundary between the West Coast and Canterbury regions, 140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth. The pass lies in a saddle between the valleys of the Otira River, a...
and Springfield
Springfield, New Zealand
Springfield is a small town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, in the South Island, of New Zealand. In 2001 it had a population of 219. At the foot of the Southern Alps, west of Christchurch, it is the most westerly town of the central Canterbury Plains...
, once the most powerful steam locomotives in New Zealand. The class were made famous by a documentary named "KB country", a term that has entered into New Zealand railfan jargon. The Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
G class
NZR G class (1928)
The NZR G class was a type of Garratt steam locomotive used in New Zealand, the only such Garratt type steam locomotives ever used by New Zealand Government Railways. They were ordered to deal with traffic growth over the heavy gradients of the North Island Main Trunk and to do away with the use of...
, by then rebuilt as 'Pacific' type locomotives were also used on this route.
The Otira tunnel was electrified 1923-1997,and two classes of electric locomotives were used - the English Electric EO class
NZR EO class (1923)
The New Zealand Railways EO class of 1923 were electric locomotives used on the steep Otira to Arthur's Pass section of the Midland Line. They were primarily for pulling trains through the 8.5 km Otira Tunnel to avoid the buildup of steam, smoke and soot....
and the NZR EA class
NZR EA class
The NZR Ea class were used by New Zealand Railways between 1968 and 1997 on the OtiraArthur's Pass section of the Midland line in the South Island, through the Otira Tunnel...
. Some members of the EW class
NZR EW class
The NZR EW class locomotive was a class of electric locomotive used in Wellington, New Zealand. The classification 'EW' was due to their being electric locomotives allocated to Wellington.- Introduction :...
and ED class
NZR ED class
The NZR ED class locomotive was a class of electric locomotive used in Wellington, New Zealand. They were built by English Electric and New Zealand Railways between 1938 and 1940, and hauled mainly passenger trains on the Wellington region's 1500 V DC electrification, and banked freight trains on...
electric locomotives were also used.
Diesel traction was introduced to the line in 1968 with the arrival of the DJ class
NZR DJ class
The NZR DJ class locomotive is a class of diesel-electric locomotive used in New Zealand. The class were purchased from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with a modernisation loan from the World Bank to replace steam locomotives in the South Island, where most of the class members worked most of their...
, which until the transfer of DC class
NZR DC class
The NZR DC class locomotive is the most common class of locomotive currently in operation on the New Zealand rail network. Primarily employed to haul freight trains operated by KiwiRail, the class is also used for long-distance passenger trains operated by Tranz Scenic and suburban passenger trains...
locomotives in the early 1980s from the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
was the dominant motive power on the line. Increasing volumes of coal traffic led to the introduction of the DX class
NZR DX class
The NZR DX class is a class of 49 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives that currently operates on New Zealand's national railway network.Built by General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, they were introduced to New Zealand between 1972 and 1976. The class is based on the General Electric...
, a number specially modified for use in the Otira Tunnel
Otira Tunnel
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the...
.