Services to West Coast resume
Media Release
25 January 2017
Services to West Coast resume
KiwiRail has cleared the slips on the Midland Line and will begin running services, including the internationally acclaimed TranzAlpine train, to and from Greymouth again tomorrow.
“Our staff and contractors have worked hard and getting the line open again so quickly after last week’s devastating weather bomb is a real credit to them,” says KiwiRail’s South Island Network Services Manager Jeanine Benson.
The TranzAlpine has been running day return trips from Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass while the line was shut by the large slip at Deception Point. It will resume travelling to Greymouth on the normal timetable from tomorrow (Thursday, 26 January).
West Coast Tourism estimates that the TranzAlpine brings in excess of $15 million a year to the region.
KiwiRail will also be running freight trains on the Midland Line between 7.30pm and 7am, a schedule that will allow work to continue on clearing the slip from the road during daylight hours.