Lynx Express

Lynx Express
Overview
Service type	Inter City Rail
Status	Terminated
Locale	South Island, New Zealand
First service	19 December 1994
Last service	April 1995
Former operator(s)	InterCity Rail
Route
Termini	Picton ; Christchurch
Stops	Blenheim, Kaikōura
Distance travelled	348 kilometres (216 mi)
Average journey time	5 hours 5 minutes (south); 5 hours 3 minutes (north)
Line(s) used	Main North Line
Technical
Track owner(s)	Tranz Rail

Last updated June 13, 2024

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.

Operation

New Zealand Rail began The Lynx fast ferry service as part of the Interisland Line at the end of 1994, with the 74-metre Incat catamaran HSC Condor 10 being leased for that summer from Condor Ferries. It provided a faster alternative to the conventional ferries MV Aratika and DEV Arahura.

To complement the faster ferry, a passenger train from Picton to Christchurch and return was introduced. Named the Lynx Express, it debuted on Monday, 19 December 1994 and unlike the Coastal Pacific it ran beyond Picton railway station to and from the ferry terminal.^[1] The Coastal Pacific Express connecting with the conventional ferries ran from Christchurch to Picton and back.

Two cars from the original Southerner later used on the Northerner were rebuilt to the same specification as the new TranzAlpine cars. They each seated 50 passengers in seats designed for the Wairarapa Connection and Northerner/Overlander, featuring alcove-style seating with tables along with panoramic windows and air conditioning. These cars were complemented by the then-recently refurbished former Southerner, later Northerner, and an InterCity spare buffet car with 24 seats and tables, arranged alcove style, and a Daewoo modular former Auckland suburban van converted to a power and baggage van with a new 90 kW generator.

Despite the improved accommodation on the newer train, as opposed to the Coastal Pacific, and its faster timetable with only two intermediate stops at Blenheim and Kaikōura, the service failed to attract sufficient revenue,^[2] and when the Condor 10 returned from 1995 to 1996, the service was not resumed.^[1]^[2]

Accident

On 23 December 1994, just a few days after its introduction, the Picton bound Lynx Express was involved in accident at a level crossing with State Highway 1 north of Omihi. A car illegally tried to cross in front of the train and was struck, resulting in the death of one of the car’s occupants. The car’s driver and another occupant suffered serious injuries.^[3]

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References

Citations

1 2 Young & Churchman 2009, p. 255.
1 2 Miles 1995, p. 3.
↑ "TAIC - Passenger train T702 Lynx Express, collision with motor vehicle, near Omihi". autointell-news.com. 23 December 1994. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2020.

Bibliography

Miles, Robert (1995). The End of the New Zealand Passenger Train. Beynon Printing Company. p. 32. ISBN 0473033208.
Young, Victor; Churchman, Geoffrey (2009). "Boat Trains". Strait Crossing: The ferries of Cook Strait through time. Wellington: transpress NZ. ISBN 978-1-877418-11-2.

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[FOOTNOTEYoungChurchman2009255-1] 1 2 Young & Churchman 2009, p. 255.

[FOOTNOTEMiles19953-2] 1 2 Miles 1995, p. 3.

[3] "TAIC - Passenger train T702 Lynx Express, collision with motor vehicle, near Omihi". autointell-news.com. 23 December 1994. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2020.

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