Wellington Central
"Northern Explorer" bound for Auckland prior to departure at Wellington Central (2019)
A Kiwi Rail Class DFB seen with the "Norther Explorer" at Wellington Central (2019)
Starting point of the Northern Explorer's 11 hour journey to Auckland is Wellington Central (2019)
Observation car on the "Northern Explorer" seen at Wellington Central (2019)
Standard seating car on the "Northern Explorer" seen at Wellington Central (2019)
Restaurant car on Kiwi Rail's "Northern Explorer" prior to departure from Wellington Central (2019)
Coach D is again a standard seating car as seen here on the "Northern Explorer" at Wellington Central (2019)
In addition the "Northern Explorer" has also a luggage van as seen at Wellington Central (2019)
Kiwi Rail's Class DFB no 7077 ready to haul the "Northern Explorer" all the way to Auckland (2019)
The "Northern Explorer" prior to departure for the 681 km journey to Auckland (2019)
Various FT Class "Matangi" EMUs seen at Wellington Central (2019)
FT4276 seen at Wellington Central (2019)
Another Metlink FT EMU seen at Wellington Central (2019)
Two FT EMUs seen in bright morning light at Wellington Central (2019)
FT5309 seen at Wellington Central (2019)
Overview of Wellington Central with various FT EMUs waiting for their next services (2019)
"Northern Explorer" Wellington-Auckland
First mountain ranges come in sight while the "Northern Explorer" is still gaining altitude (2019)
Spectacular views from the observation car on the "Northern Explorer" (2019)
Again on the decent is the "Northern Explorer" (2019)
The observation car on the end of the train provides great views on the landscape and the train itself (2019)
One of the last stops the "Northern Explorer" takes is at Hamilton (2019)
Auckland Strand
After 11 hours the "Northern Explorer" has reached its final destination Auckland Strand station (2019)
Final destination of the "Northern Explorer" is Auckland Strand station (2019)
A Kiwi Rail Class DXR with the "Coastal Pacific" seen at Christchurch (2019)
"Coastal Pacific" prior to departure from Christchurch (2019)
Two Kiwi Rail Class DXC units in shunting operations seen at Christchurch station (2019)
"Coastal Pacific" after departure from Christchurch (2019)
Great views on landscape and train from the observation car (2019)
The "Coastal Pacific" calling at Kaikoura (2019)
One of the most important stops of the "Coastal Pacific" on the way to Picton is Kaikoura (2019)
Great views are provided from the observation car (2019)
"Coastal Pacific" on the way to Picton (2019)
Although the "Coastal Pacific" consists of only five cars, due to the very curvy route it is easy to photograph the entire train from the last carriage (2019)
Prior to reaching Picton the "Coastal Pacific" passes several bridges (2019)
Interior of the AK class carriages on the "Coastal Pacific" (2019)
Large panoramic windows provide a great view (2019)
Restaurant car with comfortable seating arrangements (2019)
Interior of the observation car at the end of the train (2019)
Northern terminus of the "Coastal Pacific" is Picton (2019)
From Picton station it is only a few steps to the ferry terminal and the Interislander ferries that connect Picton with Wellington through the Cook Strait. The ferries are run by Kiwi Rail and provide the ideal connection between "Coastal Pacific" and "Northern Explorer" for a seaminess journey from Christchurch to Auckland (2019)
Christchurch
"Coastal Pacific" Christchurch-Picton
Picton
Interislander
