The Southerner possibilities and the rail corridor running from Ōtautahi / Christchurch through Ōtepoti / Dunedin, and on to Waihōpai / Invercargill, is an interesting one. As a rail industry person, now based in Queensland, the differences in the quality of the physical rail infrastructure between Queensland and Aotearoa / New Zealand networks is striking.
In too many cases, in New Zealand, the rail corridor is a goat track, undulating through the contours of the landscape, and making competitive speeds, very difficult to achieve. However, the Southerner rail corridor is an exception to the New Zealand norm.
The recent Southerner trials appear to have been able to operate at 100kph line speed on the current track. It has to be noted that this was off-season, without the summer heat restrictions that could hobble a regional rail corridor like this. Nonetheless, it appears that this rail corridor could be bought up to year-round 100kph capability at a relatively lower cost, compared to other corridors. Of course the notable exception is the slow, but very scenic portion of the journey south of Oamaru. In the past, steam trains were regularly recorded at 120kph and higher north of Oamaru, which would be the next, entirely do-able step, for a regional passenger revival.
For context, here in Queensland, the portions of the SEQ commuter rail network have a line speed of 140kph, and of course the tilt trains operating north of Brisbane operate at up to 160kph on the same narrow gauge as Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Thanks Keith. Yep, the train trip yesterday from Christchurch to Timaru was competitive with car travel times and even to Oamaru pretty respectable. But the ride quality, in spite of good suspension, was much worse than we are used to in Queensland. And fully agree about potential next steps for a revived Southerner.
Mention of the brilliant new CRL station designs prompted me to realise how the station names cleverly relate the narrative of the locations on the journey from west and south: arriving at the high point on the line (Maungawhau); passing under the ridge (Karanga-a-Hape); alongside the stream (Te Wai Horotiu); and landing at the harbour’s edge (Waitematā).
Some very smart and holistic thinking there … and what a contrast to the boorish, ignorant racists who leap onto every CRL/AT Facebook post complaining that tourists won’t know where they are.
True all of that. And if they’re so concerned about tourists getting confused, they must be up in arms about Tāmaki Makaurau’s downtown station being called Britomart.
It might well be a legal language but it is really supercilious to use it as only English is understood by all but a very small number. Additionally most of these don’t understand Maori anyway.
What does Britomart ‘mean’? What does Newmarket ‘mean’? This is all pretty nonsensical. I would also suggest that someone who uses ‘supercilious’ rather than ‘superfluous’ really needs to brush up on their English language skills.
The Southerner possibilities and the rail corridor running from Ōtautahi / Christchurch through Ōtepoti / Dunedin, and on to Waihōpai / Invercargill, is an interesting one. As a rail industry person, now based in Queensland, the differences in the quality of the physical rail infrastructure between Queensland and Aotearoa / New Zealand networks is striking.
In too many cases, in New Zealand, the rail corridor is a goat track, undulating through the contours of the landscape, and making competitive speeds, very difficult to achieve. However, the Southerner rail corridor is an exception to the New Zealand norm.
The recent Southerner trials appear to have been able to operate at 100kph line speed on the current track. It has to be noted that this was off-season, without the summer heat restrictions that could hobble a regional rail corridor like this. Nonetheless, it appears that this rail corridor could be bought up to year-round 100kph capability at a relatively lower cost, compared to other corridors. Of course the notable exception is the slow, but very scenic portion of the journey south of Oamaru. In the past, steam trains were regularly recorded at 120kph and higher north of Oamaru, which would be the next, entirely do-able step, for a regional passenger revival.
For context, here in Queensland, the portions of the SEQ commuter rail network have a line speed of 140kph, and of course the tilt trains operating north of Brisbane operate at up to 160kph on the same narrow gauge as Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Thanks Keith. Yep, the train trip yesterday from Christchurch to Timaru was competitive with car travel times and even to Oamaru pretty respectable. But the ride quality, in spite of good suspension, was much worse than we are used to in Queensland. And fully agree about potential next steps for a revived Southerner.
Mention of the brilliant new CRL station designs prompted me to realise how the station names cleverly relate the narrative of the locations on the journey from west and south: arriving at the high point on the line (Maungawhau); passing under the ridge (Karanga-a-Hape); alongside the stream (Te Wai Horotiu); and landing at the harbour’s edge (Waitematā).
Some very smart and holistic thinking there … and what a contrast to the boorish, ignorant racists who leap onto every CRL/AT Facebook post complaining that tourists won’t know where they are.
True all of that. And if they’re so concerned about tourists getting confused, they must be up in arms about Tāmaki Makaurau’s downtown station being called Britomart.
It might well be a legal language but it is really supercilious to use it as only English is understood by all but a very small number. Additionally most of these don’t understand Maori anyway.
& you never will unless they begin to be used more frequently as they here
What does Britomart ‘mean’? What does Newmarket ‘mean’? This is all pretty nonsensical. I would also suggest that someone who uses ‘supercilious’ rather than ‘superfluous’ really needs to brush up on their English language skills.
Fair points on the names. But I think they did mean supercilious? At least, that is a word that makes sense in the context it's used in.
Why on earth is there so much Maori used here?
Because Te Reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa/ New Zealand and to acknowledge that places already had names prior to European colonisation.