The Tapanui Branch was a railway line located near the border of the regions of Southland and Otago, New Zealand. Although the name suggests that it terminated in Tapanui, its furthest terminus was actually in Edievale. Construction of the line began in 1878 with the first section opened in 1880, and it operated until 1978, when it was destroyed by flooding from the Pomahaka River.
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 Shag Point Branch was a short branch off the Main South Line on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It left the main line about nine kilometres north of Palmerston at the small settlement of Shag Point to provide railway access to a nearby supply of coal. It was built in 1879 and ran until 1934.
The Tokanui Branch, also known as the Seaward Bush Branch, was a branch line railway located in Southland, New Zealand. It diverged from the Bluff Branch south of the main railway station in Invercargill and ran for 54 kilometres in a southeasterly direction. Construction began in 1883 and it operated until 1966.
The Waimate Branch was a branch line railway built in southern Canterbury, New Zealand to link the Main South Line with the town of Waimate, the centre of the surrounding rural area. It opened in 1877 and operated until 1966; for some of this time, it included an extension to Waihao Downs that was known as the Waimate Gorge Branch or Waihao Downs Branch. When the line closed, Waimate received the dubious distinction of being New Zealand's first major town to lose its railway line.
The Fernhill Branch is a railway line in Otago, New Zealand. It was opened in 1883 and the remaining section formally closed in 2002 although abandoned for ten years. A significant amount of controversy surrounded the ownership status of the line in its early years.
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 Mount Somers Branch, sometimes known as the Springburn Branch, was a branch line railway in the region of Canterbury, New Zealand. The line was built in stages from 1878, reaching Mount Somers in 1885. A further section to Springburn was added in 1889; this closed in 1957, followed by the rest of the line in 1968. A portion has been preserved as the Plains Vintage Railway.
The Catlins River Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network. It ran through the Catlins region in southwestern Otago and was built in sections between 1879 and 1915. It closed in 1971 except for the first four kilometres, which remain open as the Finegand Branch, formerly named the Finegand Industrial Siding. Along the line was the Hunts Road tunnel, the southernmost tunnel in New Zealand.
The Waimea Plains Railway was a secondary railway line that linked the towns of Lumsden and Gore in northern Southland, New Zealand. It skirted the Hokonui Hills, and operated as a through route between 31 July 1880 and 1 April 1971, with the short section from Lumsden to Balfour continuing as the Balfour Branch until 15 January 1978.
The Waikaia Branch, also known as the Switzers Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. Proposed as early as the 1870s, it was not opened until 1909 and was operated by the New Zealand Railways Department for half a century until its closure in 1959.
The Mossburn Branch was a branch line railway in New Zealand from Lumsden on the Kingston Branch to the town of Mossburn in northern Southland. Construction began in 1879, Mossburn was reached in 1887, and the line closed in 1982. It was operated by the New Zealand Railways Department.
The Kurow Branch was part of New Zealand's national rail network. In the North Otago region of the South Island, it was built in the 1870s to open up the land behind Oamaru for development, and closed in 1983.
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 Southbridge 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 operated from 1875 until 1967. Five kilometres of the line remains open as the Hornby Branch, formerly the Hornby Industrial Line.
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 Conns Creek Branch was a 2.7 kilometre branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It diverged from the Seddonville Branch at Waimangaroa and followed the southern bank of the Waimangaroa River to the line's terminus at Conns Creek at the foot of the Denniston Incline. The line operated from 1877 until 1967 and existed for the sole purpose of conveying coal from mines to the port of Westport.
The Mangaweka Deviation is a 7 km single track deviation of the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) railway line in the central North Island of New Zealand, between the settlements of Mangaweka and Utiku, south of Taihape. Opened on 18 November 1981, by the Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, it was constructed between 1973 and 1981 at a cost of $17m; to move the line away from geologically unstable land; and also to replace the high-maintenance steel viaducts including the Mangaweka Viaduct. It is the most recent and most significant deviation of the NIMT since it was opened in 1909.