Josh Martin is a London-based Kiwi journalist.
OPINION: I always thought KiwiRail was lazy branding (see also Kiwibank, Kiwibuild), but it turns out to be an oxymoron too. Kiwis and rail don’t mix. Decades ago, New Zealanders may have gone by train, but in my lifetime I’ve only gotten conclusive evidence in favor of a nation of gas-guzzling petrolheads.
I hate this theory – in the UK I’m a fan of public transport and I’m writing this diatribe aboard a fast, albeit cramped, train from Manchester to London. i keep hope Auckland’s rail renewal will boost passenger numbers, but anyone hoping for a convenient, low-carbon alternative to flying or driving between our largest city and the capital was dealt a blow when price data from KiwiRail’s relaunched Northern Explorer was released.
Even off-season, a quick quote for a return trip from Auckland to Wellington for two adults and two children came in at a whopping $1488. By comparison, recent comparably long train journeys I’ve taken in more densely populated and train-loving countries can even considered cheap.
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† New Zealand’s scenic train journeys are back on track
† Sleeper train from Auckland to Wellington could happen without KiwiRail
A round trip from London to Cornwall in high season cost $170 per adult. To get from Milan in Northern Italy all the way down to Tropea at the foot of Italy in 9.5 hours, trudging past Tuscany and Pompeii like I did a few years ago would be $210 for an adult and $670 return for a family of four. Thailand is known for being budget-friendly, but even a return train journey from Bangkok to Trang in a sleeper coupe is a steal for a family of four at $200 round trip.
Kawe Roes/Things
The Northern Explorer runs through the RangipÅ Desert near Waiouru with Mt Ruapehu in the background.
But even a Northern Explorer trip halfway through the North Island to make it to the end of the ski season in National Park-adjacent Whakapapa will set a family back $876. You better load the car up again, right?
The harsh economic reality for state-owned but small-scale KiwiRail is that it simply cannot compete with the speed of flying or the flexibility and relative affordability of traveling in your own car. Even without a similar direct competitor, the operator doesn’t have a large pool of commuters, nor expense accounts for business or leisure travelers to tap into during lean times.
Unlike the rail networks of countries like the UK, Thailand, India and almost all of Europe, New Zealand has been overrun with decades of neglect by both the Beehive and the people. Relatively low population density, cheap imported cars and a sparse rail network didn’t help.
The result: a revived Northern Explorer service is – like the two scenic services on the South Island – aimed at (mainly foreign) slow-travel enthusiasts with weeks to spend in New Zealand. Windows abound. Improved food and drink to show off Kiwi cuisine and will put my meal deal on the London to Manchester route to shame.
Tracey Goodall, general manager for scenic travel and commuter trains at KiwiRail summed up the strategy, saying the trains Northern Explorer, Coastal Pacific and TranzAlpine “serve a different market than commuter services, focusing on a visitor’s journey.” . These trains are about the experience of train travel and the beautiful scenic landscapes New Zealand has to offer… Many other countries offer a similar mix of commuter services, which are subsidized by the government, and tourist travel, such as ours, which are run accordingly be priced.
Kawe Roes/Things
The Northern Explorer outside Te KÅiti crossing the 130-year-old Waiteti Viaduct.
She added: “KiwiRail Scenic services do not receive municipal or Waka Kotahi funding. Ticket prices for these three trains are higher than the subsidized passenger services and reflect the nature of the experience and the cost of providing the service.”
So, if this isn’t a commuter trip, shall we compare the price to something like Switzerland’s Glacier Express or even Amtrak’s services connecting LA to Portland in the notoriously train-shy United States?
After a complicated journey through the maze via the Swiss Rail website, an estimated price for a return trip from Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn to St Moritz is in the neighborhood of $1000-1200. And that’s a real bucket list trip in the Alps, not just around the back of Hamilton and Palmerston North.
The 36-hour tow on Amtrak connecting LA and Portland came in at $960 round trip for a family of four. So, if you’re still spitting out your morning coffee in disgust at that nearly $1500 quote? only a slow meander along the North Island and back, keep in mind it’s not aimed at you.
Silver-plated foreign tourists are the main target, with perhaps a few local enthusiasts as well. We don’t have to subsidize them and it’s clear from decades of declining traffic on the Northern Explorer and its Overlander iteration that lower rates than these Kiwis still can’t force them to relax their handlebars or give up the Koru Club.
And if enough tourists with deep pockets come to subsidize our rail services, rail transport in New Zealand could finally be considered viable and worth more investment to get itself back on track.