The Mainlander kicks off

I was lucky enough to be on the inaugural Mainlander train from Christchurch to Invercargill. So what was it like? Read on for more...

Introduction

January 2026 saw the inaugural journey of the Mainlander train from Ōtautahi/ Christchurch to Waihōpai/ Invercargill and back with an overnight stay in Ōtepoti/ Dunedin in both directions. It was the first time a scheduled passenger train has been to Invercargill since the demise of the Southerner in 2002. And, apart from a couple of four-day Southerner revivals in the past year or so, the first time scheduled passenger trains have run between Christchurch and Dunedin since then.

According to Rail and Tourism Group chief executive Paul Jackson, about 95% of the 525 train passengers over the four days of the inaugural journey were domestic travellers.¹

What is interesting is that this service is more affordable than the Great Journeys of New Zealand Southerner revivals (Christchurch to Dunedin $249 scenic class, $499 scenic plus) but still a lot more expensive than bus service provided by Intercity whose flexible fares between Invercargill and Christchurch start from $71.

Mainlander prices:
$149 Christchurch to Dunedin
$129 Dunedin to Invercargill
$229 Christchurch to Invercargill, but requiring an overnight stay in Dunedin.

So how does it compare speed wise to the old Southerner?

Fun fact: I am one of those chronologically challenged older adults who can remember actually using the Southerner!

The Southerner was designed as an express service with limited stops. The timetable had a 6 hour 25 minute travel time between Christchurch and Dunedin and a 3 hour 40 travel time between Dunedin and Invercargill. But the Southerner was notorious for its poor on-time running so this wasn’t often achieved in practice.

Southerner timetable from its launch in 1970.

The inaugural run of the Mainlander took 7 hours 15 minutes between Christchurch and Dunedin - but its speed was capped at 80km/h even through the line speed is 100km/h as far as Oamaru and 80km/h thereafter. There was also a 30 minute stop in Timaru and a 20 minute wait at Merton for a northbound freight train. So the old Southerner travel time looks realistic if timed around northbound freight service slots.

From Dunedin to Invercargill, the Mainlander took around 4 hours, 20 minutes mostly running at the line speed of 80km/h but was stopped at various track warrant stations for a few minutes each awaiting approval from train control to proceed and help for 17 minutes at Mataura waiting for a northbound freight service to pass. So, once again, a well-timed service around northbound freights, mainly from Fonterra’s Edendale factory to Mosgiel, should be able to achieve a similar run time of 3 hours, 40 minutes.

By comparison, Intercity buses are timed to take 6 hours, 5 minutes from Christchurch to Dunedin and 4 hours from Dunedin to Invercargill. A through journey involving a change of bus in Dunedin is scheduled to take 10 hours, 45 minutes.

What was it like on board?

In short, better than I expected. The ex-Capital Connection carriages are pretty comfortable and I can now see why Capital Connection customers were grumpy with the Te Huia style interim rolling stock. Even though the carriages are designed for regional train operation, they are more than adequately comfortable for the seven hours between Christchurch and Dunedin. There are luggage racks above the seats for small items with larger items able to be checked in and delivered trainside on arrival.

The ride quality was OK between Christchurch and Dunedin but significantly rougher on the section from Dunedin to Invercargill, not helped by the fact that my seat for that leg was the closest one to the locomotive.

Mainlander train. Photo credit: Glen Antony for the Mainlander.

There is on-board power but no USB ports and no wi-fi. That said, mobile network connectivity was pretty good for the bulk of the journey. Seating is in a mix of bays of four around a table and airline style seating. There is good window alignment with all seats and large windows to admire the changing scenery.

While seating is allocated, you can e-mail the team with specific seating requests and they will do their best to accommodate. The nature of the inaugural journey made for a particularly convivial and sociable environment where there were lots of conversations had and connections made onboard.

The food and beverage offering was good and largely reasonably priced. I can recommend the steak and cheese pie and there was the usual selection of sandwiches, pies, slices, salads and cakes. Coffee is from a machine and of acceptable if not fantastic quality. In addition, there are alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for sale.

Commentary was provided on board at key points of interest but, unlike the Dunedin Railways journeys, it was kept at a reasonable level where a normal human brain could absorb the amount of information being shared. Between Dunedin and Invercargill, Southland town crier Lynley McKerrow was on board providing colourful commentary.

The on-board staff were super friendly and helpful in a very kiwi way. And the number of rail fans spotted along the way and passing through towns was quite notable, especially between Dunedin and Invercargill.

Final thoughts

Apart from a few very minor glitches, the inaugural journey went very well and I was particularly chuffed to add Dunedin to Invercargill to journeys that I have made by rail and to actually use Invercargill Railway Station as a passenger.

Arrival into Invercargill Station. The station itself has definitely seen better days. Photo credit: Darren Davis

The experience is a good mid-market product, positioned between Intercity buses and the premium experience of the Great Journeys of New Zealand trains.

But it was particularly striking that the customer demographic was definitely very much on the older side with lots of people with fond memories of the days when the Southerner connected the Lower South Island to Christchurch.

While further journeys of the Mainlander have been promised, as of the time of writing, no new dates have been announced. And of course, occasional one-offs train journeys are no substitute for regular long-distance trains priced as public transport, not as premium experiences largely only affordable to international visitors. The Future is Rail has a specific campaign in support of a revived Southerner train. You can find out more about their Southerner campaign here.

And if you’re keen to do this journey, I suggest bookmarking the Mainlander website where you can sign up to be notified of future journeys.

1. All Aboard with Bells On, Otago Daily Times, 23 January 2026