Scenic route
Northern Explorer
Auckland → Wellington · New Zealand
Volcano country: the Raurimu Spiral climbs to Tongariro’s plateau, Ruapehu steaming beyond the glass.
How this line was checked
- The 668 km this route shares with OpenStreetMap relation 9594133 is drawn from that relation's own nodes, thinned to within 77 m of them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 25 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 Northern Explorer?
The Northern Explorer runs 681 km from Auckland to Wellington.
How long does the Northern Explorer take?
The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 11 h for the 681 km. That is an average of 62 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 100 km/h.
Who runs the Northern Explorer?
KiwiRail, with AK panorama cars.
How old is the Northern Explorer?
The line has been in service since 1908. 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
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“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.
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More train routes in New Zealand.