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Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of Christchurch, and is considered a satellite town of the city. With a population of 18,300, Rangiora is the 25th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the fourth-largest in the Canterbury region.
Oxford is a small town of around 2,100 people serving the farming community of North Canterbury, New Zealand. It is part of the Waimakariri District and is a linear town, approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long. Originally, it was served by the Oxford Branch railway, and had two stations, East Oxford and West Oxford. The line closed in 1959 and was dismantled. Some railway signs and the remnants of railway platforms can still be seen along Oxford Road on the way to Rangiora.
The Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch and the Main South Line between Lyttelton and Invercargill, running down the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, are sometimes together referred-to collectively as the South Island Main Trunk Railway (SIMT). Construction of a line running the length of the east coast began in the 1860s and was completed all the way from Picton to Invercargill in 1945; the last sections being on the Main North Line south of Picton. But the designation 'South Island Main Trunk' originally referred to only that line between Christchurch and Invercargill.
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. It is one of the most important railway lines in New Zealand and was one of the first to be built, with construction commencing in the 1860s. At Christchurch it connects with the Main North Line to Picton, the other part of the South Island Main Trunk.
The Ngapara and Tokarahi Branches were two connected railway branch lines in northern Otago, New Zealand, part of the national rail network. The Ngapara Branch opened in 1877 and almost all of it closed in 1959; the remaining few kilometres, called the Waiareka Industrial Line, were removed in 1997. The Tokarahi Branch branched off the Ngapara Branch. It operated from 1887 until 1930 and was originally known as the Livingstone Branch, though it never progressed beyond Tokarahi to Livingstone. In early 2008 there is a proposal to reinstate the first 4.5 km of the Ngapara Branch.
The Methven Branch was a branch line railway that was part of New Zealand's national rail network in Canterbury. It opened in 1880 and operated until 1976.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
The Eyreton Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network. Located in the Canterbury region of the South Island, it left the Main North Line in Kaiapoi and was built a mere ten kilometres south of the Oxford Branch. It opened in 1875 and operated until 1954, except for the first portion, which remained open until 1965.
The Oxford Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network. It was located in the Canterbury region of the South Island, and ran roughly parallel with the Eyreton Branch that was located some ten kilometres south. It opened to Oxford in 1875 and survived until 1959.
The Whitecliffs Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network in the Canterbury region of the South Island. It was more industrial than the many rural branches on the South Island's east coast whose traffic primarily derived from agriculture, and it operated from 1875 until 1962.
Sheffield is a small village located in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, near the Waimakariri Gorge.
Kirwee is a town located west of Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It was named after Karwi in India by retired British Army colonel De Renzie Brett. The 2001 New Zealand census revealed that Kirwee and its surrounding rural area has a usually resident population of 2,646, an increase of 393 or 17.4% since the 1996 census. The actual township population is much smaller and is considered a minor town compared to nearby Darfield, which has a lot more services.
The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway.
The Main North Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north from Christchurch in New Zealand up the east coast of the South Island through Kaikoura and Blenheim to Picton. It is a major link in New Zealand's national rail network and offers a connection with roll-on roll-off ferries from Picton to Wellington. It was also the longest railway construction project in New Zealand's history, with the first stages built in the 1870s and not completed until 1945.
There have been a number of proposals to build a Taupo Line as a branch railway linking the township of Taupo in the central North Island of New Zealand to New Zealand's rail network. One proposal proceeded as far as the construction stage before being stopped.
Longbeach is a lowly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a rural area of the Canterbury Plains on the shore of the Pacific Ocean on the northern side of the Hinds River's mouth.
Rail transport in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand's South Island, consists of two main trunk railway lines intersecting in the suburb of Addington, carrying mainly long-haul freight traffic but also two long distance tourist-oriented passenger trains. The two lines are the Main North Line and Main South Line, collectively but unofficially known as the South Island Main Trunk Railway. There is a heritage line at the Ferrymead Historic Park that is operated with steam, electric, and diesel motive power hauling tourist-oriented services.
State Highway 71 is a New Zealand state highway connecting Kaiapoi/Christchurch with Rangiora.
Papanui railway station served the suburb of Papanui in northern Christchurch, New Zealand. It was on the Main North Line between the stations of Bryndwr and Styx, 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) north of Addington Junction. The station handled freight and passenger traffic from when it opened in 1872 until closing in the late 20th century, and from 1880 was the site of an interchange between passenger rail and trams until the 1930s.
References
- Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
- Leitch, David, and Scott, Brian; Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, Grantham House, 1998 revised edition