East Coast Main Trunk Railway

Infobox rail line
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name = East Coast Main Trunk
type = Secondary line
system = New Zealand railway network
status =
locale = North Island, New Zealand
start = Hamilton
end = Kawerau
stations =
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ridership =
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close =
owner = ONTRACK
operator = KiwiRail
character =
stock =
linelength =
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|1067
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speed =
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The East Coast Main Trunk Railway is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau, with a branch line to Taneatua from the junction at Hawkens. The line is built to narrow gauge of 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in), the uniform gauge in New Zealand.

History

Construction

In 1880, the North Island Main Trunk Railway had reached Frankton, Hamilton, from Auckland. From there, the line made its way to Morrinsville in October 1884, Te Aroha in March 1886 and Paeroa in 1898. The route to Waihi through the Karangahake Gorge was surveyed in the next few years with construction starting in 1900, with three bridges, including a road-rail bridge and a kilometre-long tunnel, which has a 1:50 grade and took three years to build, being completed in 1904. The line between Paeroa and Waihi opened in November 1905. Surveys were undertaken for the route beyond Waihi in 1907 and construction started in March 1912, but was suspended in November of the same year. The work started again in 1914, but was suspended again in March 1917 because of a shortage of staff due to World War I. The works started again in 1918, and the railway through the Athenree Gorge opened to Tahawai in 1925 and Tauranga in March 1925. The remaining length of line to Te Puke, Whakatane and Taneatua opened in 1928.

Original Intention of the rail line

Originally, the railway line was to run to Opotiki and through the Waioeka Gorge to Gisborne, linking with the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line. Work did begin, however due to two World Wars, an economic depression and an influenza epidemic, the railway was never completed.

Kaimai Tunnel Deviation

The Kaimai Railway Tunnel runs for 8896 m under the Kaimai Ranges, making it the longest tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere. Construction started from both sides of the range in 1969: the headings met in 1976 and the tunnel opened on 12 September 1978.

Closure of the Northern Route

After the opening of the Kaimai Tunnel, the route through the Karangahake Gorge to the eastern junction closed in 1978 and was dismantled in the 1980s. The railway from Morrinsville to Paeroa stayed open and continued to Thames until closure in 1991 and lifting in 1996/1997. The rail bridge at Te Aroha is now a walkway over the Waihou River; the route from the tunnel to Waikino through the Karangahake Gorge is now a walkway; from Waikino to Waihi the Goldfields Railway heritage line preserves the old railway; and State Highway 2 runs through the Athrenee Gorge along part of the original rail alignment.

Passenger Services

Taneatua Express

When the line opened to its terminus at Taneatua, the Taneatua Express ran from Auckland. The service took 12 hours, later reduced to 10½ hours, and ran two or three times weekly. The last train ran on 7 February 1959, and was replaced by a railcar service as far as Te Puke, due to negligible traffic to Taneatua. The railway struggled to compete with private cars and the service was withdrawn on 11 September 1967. Other than special excursions, there were no passenger services until 1991.

Kaimai Express

In 1991, the Kaimai Express started and ran to Tauranga. Along with the Geyserland Express it used the Silver Fern railcars that had been used on the North Island Main Trunk Line. The first train ran on 9 December 1991, running a morning service from Tauranga to Auckland and afternoon service from Auckland to Tauranga, taking 3½ hours. The times changed in 2000 to enable the introduction of the Waikato Connection commuter service between Hamilton and Auckland. In 2001, it was announced that the service was too uneconomic to continue, and the last service was on 7 October 2001.