TranzAlpine

Coast to coast across the Southern Alps: the Waimakariri gorges, Arthur’s Pass and the 8.5 km Otira Tunnel in one morning.

Few trains cross an entire climate divide before lunch. From Christchurch the line sprints the chessboard Canterbury Plains, then climbs into gorge country on a ladder of short tunnels and tall viaducts, the Staircase among them, high above the Waimakariri’s turquoise braids, while the open-air viewing car fills with wind-blasted photographers. Beyond the alpine crest everything flips: beech rainforest, cloud, greenstone rivers and the moody West Coast light down to Greymouth.

Along the way

• Canterbury Plains sprint
• Staircase Viaduct
• Craigieburn high country
• Bealey braids below Arthur’s Pass
• Otira rainforest descent
• Lake Brunner (Moana) shore

How this line was checked

• The 230 km this route shares with OpenStreetMap relation 1598960 is drawn from that relation's own nodes, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 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 TranzAlpine?

The TranzAlpine runs 223 km from Christchurch to Greymouth.

How long does the TranzAlpine take?

The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 5 h for the 223 km. That is an average of 45 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 100 km/h.

Who runs the TranzAlpine?

KiwiRail, with AK panorama cars.

How old is the TranzAlpine?

The line has been in service since 1987. 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.

How high does the TranzAlpine climb?

737 m above sea level at its highest point.

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia ↗