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NZR RM class (Silver Fern)
Encyclopedia
This article is about the New Zealand
railcar service and the railcars themselves. For other uses, see Silver Fern (disambiguation)
.
The NZR RM class
Silver Fern is a class of railcar
in New Zealand
. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki
and Toshiba
, trading as Nissho Iwai Company of Japan
. The New Zealand Railways
classed the railcars RM, like all other railcars.
The railcars are most famous for their service on the eponymous North Island Main Trunk daylight passenger train between Auckland
and Wellington
between Sunday December 14, 1972 and Sunday December 8, 1991.
Built by Kawasaki
and Toshiba
(trading as Nissho Iwai), the Silver Ferns were introduced in 1972 to encourage passengers back to rail transport due to competition from air and road transport. The class was named the "Silver Ferns" (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the overnight "Silver Star" carriage train, and replaced the three 82-seater Blue Streak
railcars. The railcars are most famous for their service on the eponymous North Island Main Trunk daylight passenger train between Wellington
and Auckland
between Sunday December 14, 1972 and Sunday December 8, 1991.
In December 1991 the Silver Fern was replaced by the Overlander carriage train. The railcars were transferred to two newly introduced services: the Kaimai Express between Auckland and Tauranga
and the Geyserland Express between Auckland and Rotorua
. In 2000, a third service was added, the Waikato Connection between Auckland and Hamilton
. All three services ceased on 7 October 2001.
From 2002 two of the class were employed on Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) commuter services between Auckland and Pukekohe
. The services were operated by Veolia Auckland
as part of their contract with ARTA, with ARTA leasing the units from KiwiRail
.
This lease expired in 2009 and the units were replaced by additional carriage services. This freed the units for charter and other services, such as KiwiRail's 'Explore by Rail' specials. In 2010 a major refurbishment of the units commenced in Wellington to extend their services, with the program completed by mid-2011. Proposals exist for using for the units to be employed on a revived Waikato Connection service.
have been operating various excursion services under their new "Explore by Rail" brand. The first of these excursion services was the "Silver Fern - Otaki and Beyond Tour" which commenced on September 19, 2009. This saw RM30 travelling from Wellington to Feilding and return on 5 Saturdays between September and December 2009.
Since the Otaki and Beyond Tour, RM 30 has been used on other Explore by Rail services including:
After a recent petition by The Campaign for Better Transport which received around 11,500 signatures to start a Waikato rail service between Hamilton
and Auckland
(like the Waikato Connection which ceased in 2001), it will be likely that RM 18 and 24 will be used to provide this service if it is introduced.
for services in both directions. That was replaced by airline-style meals heated on board, and Taihape railway station dining room was closed, the station later being demolished and replaced by a shelter.
The interiors now have new carpet and refurbished seats. Each seat bay now also has a power socket for passenger use. Tables have been added with mahogany veneer, echoing the new timber-featured ceiling with ash and mahogany from sustainable forestry. Lighting has been upgraded to modern energy efficient standards, including individual reading lights in the new coat racks. Also fitted were large, triple glazed windows, to give a more panoramic view. No significant mechanical work is believed to have been undertaken. The two other railcars were refurbished in 2009.
On 18 August 1981, half of the first and second sets derailed and rolled north of Waiouru, when the northbound service was descending curves. Passengers reported that the railcar had been travelling quickly over this section of the journey and the speed around curves just before the derailment had been concerning. The subsequent enquiry found that many of the speed restriction boards for the curves in the area were missing or misleading; a full audit of speed restrictions across the entire rail network was one of the enquiry outcomes. Four people were killed and another 16 injured. The railcars were replaced by the "Blue Fern
" on Wednesdays for three years until May 1984, to allow the two remaining railcar sets to be serviced while the damaged set was being repaired.
In 1989 and again in 1990 the Blue Fern train ran instead of railcars after Silver Fern railcars were involved in accidents.
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...
railcar service and the railcars themselves. For other uses, see Silver Fern (disambiguation)
Silver Fern (disambiguation)
Silver Fern may refer to:*Cyathea dealbata, a species of tree fern* NZR RM class , a class of New Zealand railcars* Silver fern flag, an alternative flag of New Zealand* Silver Ferns, the New Zealand national netball team...
.
The NZR RM class
NZR RM class
The RM class is the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department and its successors given to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. As NZR and its successors has operated many diverse types of railcars, alternate names have been given...
Silver Fern is a class of railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
in New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand consists of a network of gauge railway lines in both the North and South Islands. Rail services are focused primarily on freight, particularly bulk freight, with limited passenger services on some lines...
. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
and Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
, trading as Nissho Iwai Company of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The New Zealand Railways
New Zealand Railways Corporation
KiwiRail Network, formerly ONTRACK , is the infrastructure arm of KiwiRail. The ONTRACK trading name was introduced in 2004 after the government repurchased all of New Zealand's rail infrastructure from Toll NZ. It does not operate revenue rolling stock...
classed the railcars RM, like all other railcars.
History
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
between Sunday December 14, 1972 and Sunday December 8, 1991.
Built by Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
and Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
(trading as Nissho Iwai), the Silver Ferns were introduced in 1972 to encourage passengers back to rail transport due to competition from air and road transport. The class was named the "Silver Ferns" (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the overnight "Silver Star" carriage train, and replaced the three 82-seater Blue Streak
NZR RM class (88 seater)
The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand, known unofficially as 'articulateds', 'twinsets', 'Drewrys' and 'Fiats'. They were purchased to replace steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains...
railcars. The railcars are most famous for their service on the eponymous North Island Main Trunk daylight passenger train between Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
between Sunday December 14, 1972 and Sunday December 8, 1991.
In December 1991 the Silver Fern was replaced by the Overlander carriage train. The railcars were transferred to two newly introduced services: the Kaimai Express between Auckland and Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
and the Geyserland Express between Auckland and Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
. In 2000, a third service was added, the Waikato Connection between Auckland and Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
. All three services ceased on 7 October 2001.
From 2002 two of the class were employed on Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) commuter services between Auckland and Pukekohe
Pukekohe
Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe...
. The services were operated by Veolia Auckland
Veolia (New Zealand)
Veolia Transport Auckland, formerly Connex Auckland Ltd, is a division of Australasia's largest passenger train company, French-owned Veolia. It runs Auckland's urban passenger trains under contract from Auckland Transport under their MAXX brand, on infrastructure owned and managed by KiwiRail...
as part of their contract with ARTA, with ARTA leasing the units from KiwiRail
KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman...
.
This lease expired in 2009 and the units were replaced by additional carriage services. This freed the units for charter and other services, such as KiwiRail's 'Explore by Rail' specials. In 2010 a major refurbishment of the units commenced in Wellington to extend their services, with the program completed by mid-2011. Proposals exist for using for the units to be employed on a revived Waikato Connection service.
Current Use
Following a refurbishment of RM 30, Tranz ScenicTranz Scenic
Tranz Scenic is the long-distance passenger train brand of KiwiRail, formed from the New Zealand Railways Corporation InterCity Rail services. Tranz Scenic was renamed along with the other operating divisions of Tranz Rail in 1995...
have been operating various excursion services under their new "Explore by Rail" brand. The first of these excursion services was the "Silver Fern - Otaki and Beyond Tour" which commenced on September 19, 2009. This saw RM30 travelling from Wellington to Feilding and return on 5 Saturdays between September and December 2009.
Since the Otaki and Beyond Tour, RM 30 has been used on other Explore by Rail services including:
- A special Valentines Day trip in February 2010 from Wellington to Chateau TongariroChateau TongariroChateau Tongariro is a New Zealand hotel and resort complex.It is located close to Whakapapa skifield on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, and is close to the volcanic peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, within the boundaries of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's oldest.Now officially...
(via National ParkNational Park, New ZealandNational Park is a small town on the central plateau of the North Island of New Zealand. Also known as National Park Village it is the highest urban township in New Zealand at 825 metres. As the name suggests, it borders the World Heritage Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national...
) for an overnight stay. - East Coast Explorer: Runs during Easter weekend 2010. This sees RM30 leave WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
on the Friday heading to NapierNapier, New ZealandNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, then up to GisborneGisborne, New Zealand-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
on the Saturday and return on Sunday. The service will then return to Wellington on the Monday. - Hawkes Bay Weekender: Operates every second weekend of each month between May and October 2010. This service departs WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and travels up to NapierNapier, New ZealandNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
on the Saturday and returns to Wellington on the Sunday. - ANZAC Day - National Park Tour: A special ANZAC weekend service where travellers will go from WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
to Chateau TongariroChateau TongariroChateau Tongariro is a New Zealand hotel and resort complex.It is located close to Whakapapa skifield on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, and is close to the volcanic peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, within the boundaries of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's oldest.Now officially...
(via National ParkNational Park, New ZealandNational Park is a small town on the central plateau of the North Island of New Zealand. Also known as National Park Village it is the highest urban township in New Zealand at 825 metres. As the name suggests, it borders the World Heritage Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national...
) on the Saturday. On the Sunday travellers will leave Chateau Tongariro for WaiouruWaiouruWaiouru is a small town in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu, and in the Ruapehu District....
where they will be taken to the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial MuseumQEII Army Memorial MuseumThe National Army Museum is the museum of the New Zealand Army. It was formerly known as the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum. It is situated 94 minutes south of Taupo on State Highway One, on the southern side of the small military town of Waiouru. The 1300 square metre museum is...
where they will attend an ANZAC service followed by a tour of the museum before heading back to Wellington.
After a recent petition by The Campaign for Better Transport which received around 11,500 signatures to start a Waikato rail service between Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
(like the Waikato Connection which ceased in 2001), it will be likely that RM 18 and 24 will be used to provide this service if it is introduced.
Service
The Silver Fern offered airline-style service onboard. Drinks, snacks and the morning paper were supplied to passengers. From 1972 to 1988 there was a lunch stop at TaihapeTaihape
Taihape is the Northern gateway town of the Rangitikei District, located near the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. It services a large rural community and lies on State Highway 1, which runs through the centre of the North Island.- Economy :...
for services in both directions. That was replaced by airline-style meals heated on board, and Taihape railway station dining room was closed, the station later being demolished and replaced by a shelter.
Upgrades
During October 2008, RM 30 was taken to the Wellington Passenger Depot for extensive refurbishment. This work included the stripping of the interior in the passenger saloons, allowing corrosion repairs to be carried out. New thermal, noise deadening insulation was added.The interiors now have new carpet and refurbished seats. Each seat bay now also has a power socket for passenger use. Tables have been added with mahogany veneer, echoing the new timber-featured ceiling with ash and mahogany from sustainable forestry. Lighting has been upgraded to modern energy efficient standards, including individual reading lights in the new coat racks. Also fitted were large, triple glazed windows, to give a more panoramic view. No significant mechanical work is believed to have been undertaken. The two other railcars were refurbished in 2009.
Accidents
Level crossing accidents and other incidents seemed to be synonymous with these railcars.On 18 August 1981, half of the first and second sets derailed and rolled north of Waiouru, when the northbound service was descending curves. Passengers reported that the railcar had been travelling quickly over this section of the journey and the speed around curves just before the derailment had been concerning. The subsequent enquiry found that many of the speed restriction boards for the curves in the area were missing or misleading; a full audit of speed restrictions across the entire rail network was one of the enquiry outcomes. Four people were killed and another 16 injured. The railcars were replaced by the "Blue Fern
Blue Fern (train)
The Blue Ferns, an unofficial name, were temporary replacement locomotive-hauled carriage trains between Wellington and Auckland on the North Island Main Trunk Railway in the North Island of New Zealand, in 1981-1984 and 1989-1990.-Twist of Fate:...
" on Wednesdays for three years until May 1984, to allow the two remaining railcar sets to be serviced while the damaged set was being repaired.
In 1989 and again in 1990 the Blue Fern train ran instead of railcars after Silver Fern railcars were involved in accidents.
Class register
| Original no. | TMS no. | Introduced | Withdrawn | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Refurbished, on charter fleet | ||
| 2 | 24 | Refurbished, on charter fleet | ||
| 3 | 30 | Refurbished October 2008, running charter trains for Tranz Scenic |