Scenic route
Coastal Pacific
Picton → Christchurch · New Zealand
Pinched between the Kaikōura ranges and Pacific surf past fur-seal colonies, on a line the 2016 quake lifted bodily out of the sea.
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 1598959 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within 34 m of them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 12 m from it
- The operator publishes this line's timetable: KiwiRail — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Questions and answers
How long is the Coastal Pacific?
The Coastal Pacific runs 348 km from Picton to Christchurch.
How long does the Coastal Pacific take?
The fastest scheduled journey is 5 h 30 min for the 348 km. That is an average of 63 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 100 km/h.
Who runs the Coastal Pacific?
KiwiRail, with Great Journeys scenic day train.
How old is the Coastal Pacific?
The line has been in service since 1945. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
More scenic routes
- Glacier Express
“The world’s slowest express”: 291 bridges, 91 tunnels and the 2,033 m Oberalp Pass at an average of 36 km/h.
Wikipedia ↗ - Bernina Express
A UNESCO World Heritage railway: 7 % grades with no rack, the Brusio spiral, and the highest rail crossing of the Alps at 2,253 m.
Wikipedia ↗ - Bergensbanen
Northern Europe’s highest main line: over the bare Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 m, through 182 tunnels.
Wikipedia ↗ - West Highland Line
Regularly voted the world’s most scenic railway: around Rannoch Moor and over the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct of film fame.
Wikipedia ↗
More train routes in New Zealand.