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The Bay Express was a passenger train between Wellington and Napier in New Zealand's North Island, operating from Monday, 11 December 1989 [1] until Sunday, 7 October 2001. It was operated by New Zealand Railways Corporation's InterCity Rail division, later known as Tranz Scenic.
The Bay Express was preceded by the Endeavour , which ran the same route from 1972 until 1989. [1] The Endeavour started service with upgraded carriages and a buffet car, but in August 1981 these were diverted to the North Island Main Trunk as the Blue Fern and replaced by carriages of lesser quality without a buffet car. The introduction of the Bay Express was intended to return the standard of Hawkes Bay passenger services back to their former level.
The trains consisted of two modular guards vans converted into power-luggage vans with 11 kW petrol generators at the handbrake ends (one from Mitsubishi, Japan, the other from Daewoo, Korea) and three 1930s-built NZR 56-foot carriages, one a former red Picton/Greymouth car extensively rebuilt into a servery and rearview observation car with 24 seats, arranged alcove-style around tables. The seats were Addington Workshops-built and installed in this car for the Picton/Greymouth runs, reupholstered with a slight alteration made to facilitate more comfort on the head and neck. The train included two of three remaining Endeavour cars, each seating 51 in the same seat type and format with large viewing windows like those on the TranzAlpine . The last car of the consist featured a large observation window at the rear. A new form of pressure-ventilation was installed in all three carriages, with associated ceiling-mounted trunking to filter the air throughout each car.
The train attracted good patronage and, from 1993 onward, the odd Northerner car or two, a thoroughly refurbished Auckland excursion car and later a thoroughly refurbished Wairarapa Connection car, the Auckland excursion modular van with a 37.5-kW generator housed in the non-handbrake end module, the first and third modular NIMT 11-kW power-luggage vans were frequently being used to bolster this service.
From 12 January until 25 January 1993, the first of three 56 foot air-conditioned rear-view cars and the first of three 90-kW power-luggage vans exclusive to the Northerner and Overlander passenger trains were put to use on the Napier train for trial purposes. In the meantime, one of the 51-seat cars exclusive to this train was transferred for trial use on the Southerner.
On Sunday, 12 November 1995 the Bay Express, consisting of the second Northerner power-luggage van, a Northerner car, a Bay Express car and its servery and rear-view car was involved in a derailment when it entered a 50 km/h marked curve at 90 km/h. The locomotive, DX 5310, rolled over and suffered extensive damage, not returning to service until 2001; and a member of the public riding in the cab suffered injuries that proved fatal the following day. The power-luggage van and Northerner car – which was unoccupied – derailed but remained upright. The Bay Express car and servery car remained on the rails. [2] This resulted in the recently refurbished buffet car, a Northerner car and the first NIMT 90-kW power-luggage van forming a replacement train until Christmas 1995.
Apart from the servery and rear-view car, the train was fully re-equipped, with two former Picton – Greymouth later TranzAlpine and TranzCoastal panorama cars, the first Southerner power-luggage van with its viewing module restored as a luggage module and the third of three modular vans assigned to the Endeavour. The two panorama cars were completely refurbished, each with 50 seats to a design introduced on the Overlander, and air conditioned. At one end in each car, eight seats were arranged in bays of four, alcove-style, the rest forward-facing. The two "new" power-luggage vans featured 50-kW generators, also housed in the handbrake ends. All were painted in the new Cato blue scheme. The servery and rear-view car was merely inspected for damage and cleared to run with the newer stock, but later incorporated the horizontal full-length 350-mm Tranz Scenic band on the sides in place of the white stripe and yellow band. The dark blue livery remained til 1997.
In 1997, while the refurbished buffet car resumed temporary duties on the run as it had in 1991 and 1993, the servery and rear-view car was refurbished. All seats were reupholstered and the interior decor altered to match the other cars, and the new "Cato blue" paint scheme applied on the exterior.
The timetable had an 8 am departure from Wellington, reaching Napier at 1.30 pm. The return service departed Napier at 2.30 pm and arrived in Wellington at 8 pm. The first service, for invited guests and dignitaries, operated on 10 December 1989 and regular services for the general public commenced the next day. [1]
Unlike the TranzAlpine and TranzCoastal services, the Bay Express primarily relied upon local point to point traffic and as a result, was placed under increasing pressure by the continued real drop in airline ticket prices over the 1990s, and the price of owning and operating private cars. The travel time of the Bay Express was uncompetitive compared with both air and car travel (five hours thirty minutes on average by rail compared to one hour by air and four hours by car). Long-distance coaches had similar travel times and cheaper fares.
Following significant changes in management within Tranz Rail, a bottom-up review of the business indicated that the Bay Express was not a financially sustainable service. By 2001, roughly 45 passengers were riding the Bay Express per trip, and it was proving to be unprofitable. Subsidies from the central government or other bodies were not forthcoming, and despite protests against cessation and proposals on how to improve ridership, the cancellation of the Bay Express was announced, effective 8 October 2001. [3]
The NZR RM class Silver Fern was a class of rail motor in New Zealand. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki under contract with Nissho Iwai of Japan. New Zealand Railways (NZR) classified the railcars as RM (Rail Motor), the same as other railcars, using the Silver Ferns (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the premier night sleeper train that also ran on the Wellington-Auckland (North Island Main Trunk) route, the Silver Star. The Silver Ferns replaced the three successful Blue Streak railcars on the service.
The Silver Star was a luxury passenger train that ran overnight between Auckland and Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) railway of New Zealand, operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR). The train ran from Monday 6 September 1971 until Sunday 8 June 1979. It replaced the Night Limited express passenger trains which provided a faster service than the ordinary express trains, by stopping at only six intermediate stations en route and not hauling a postal (sorting) van as on previous trains.
The Southerner was a passenger express train in New Zealand's South Island between Christchurch and Invercargill along the South Island Main Trunk, that ran from 1970 to 2002. It was one of the premier passenger trains in New Zealand and its existence made Invercargill the southernmost passenger station in the world.
The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM (Rail Motor), the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the class eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs".
The Endeavour was a long-distance passenger train service between Wellington and Napier in the North Island of New Zealand. The service was modelled on the Southerner service in the South Island, and operated from 1972 to 1989.
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes. The journey is 223 kilometres (139 mi) one-way, taking almost five hours. There are 16 tunnels and four viaducts, with the Staircase Viaduct elevated as much as 75 metres (246 ft).
The Overlander was a long-distance rail passenger train between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). It was operated by Tranz Scenic. The service was replaced from 25 June 2012, by the Northern Explorer.
The Capital Connection is a long-distance commuter train operated by KiwiRail between Palmerston North and the capital city of Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk.
The Northerner was an overnight passenger train between Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand. The train replaced the unnamed and ordinary express trains supplementing the luxury Silver Star, which had replaced the Night Limited in 1971. The Northerner operated from 1975 to 2004.
The Coastal Pacific is a long-distance passenger train that runs between Picton and Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail. It was called the TranzCoastal from May 2000 until temporarily withdrawn in February 2011. It was the first train to use the new AK class carriages.
The Lynx Express was a long-distance passenger train in the South Island of New Zealand that ran the length of the Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch. The service was operated by New Zealand Rail Limited business unit InterCity Rail.
The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Transdev under contract from the Greater Wellington Regional Council. It is a diesel-hauled carriage service, introduced by the New Zealand Railways Department in 1964 after passenger demand between Masterton to Wellington exceeded the capacity of the diesel railcars then used.
The Connoisseur cars were special railway carriages that were used in a number of passenger trains in New Zealand.
The Picton Express was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Christchurch and Picton. It ran from December 1945 until February 1956, and was thus the shortest-lived provincial express in New Zealand. Following the end of railcar services in 1976, a new carriage train between Christchurch and Picton began, under the same name as the earlier service, until it was replaced in 1988 by the Coastal Pacific Express.
The NZR 56-foot carriage is a class of 56 ft (17 m) long railway passenger carriage formerly used on almost all long-distance passenger rail transport in New Zealand. 88 carriages have been preserved.
The New Zealand FM guards van is a rail vehicle in New Zealand originally used on freight trains but now used primarily on passenger trains, reclassified AG.
The New Zealand British Rail Mark 2 carriages were built by British Rail Engineering Limited for British Rail in the early 1970s. From the mid-1990s, 150 were exported to New Zealand. After being rebuilt, refurbished and re-gauged, they entered service with a variety of operators on New Zealand's railway network. The carriages generally replaced older NZR 56-foot carriages, some of which had been in use for almost 70 years.
The New Zealand AK class carriage is a class of 17 cars built by Dunedin's Hillside Workshops for KiwiRail's long-distance passenger operation The Great Journeys of New Zealand. Consisting of 11 AK saloon carriages and four AKC café carriages, supplemented by three AKL luggage vans and four AKV open-air viewing/generator vans converted from AG vans, similar to those previously used on the Coastal Pacific and the TranzAlpine. The AK class are the first new carriages to be built in New Zealand since 1943.
The RUB type carriage stock was a type of steel bodied air conditioned passenger carriage operated by the New South Wales Government Railways from September 1949 until April 2000.
Great Journeys New Zealand is the tourism division of KiwiRail that operate its three Scenic train services. The new division was launched in May 2017 and replaced the former tourism brand KiwiRail Scenic Journeys. It has continuity with the earlier InterCity Rail (1987–1995) and Tranz Scenic (1995–2011).