Thunder in the Mountains - KiwiRail's Midland Line Winter 2024

KiwiRail's Midland Line runs from Rolleston on the Canterbury Plains to Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. The route primarily serves coal traffic coming from mines sprawled up the West Coast, heading for export from Lyttleton Port near Christchurch. The world-famous Tranz Alpine scenic train journey also runs on this line, between Christchurch and Greymouth.

We set out to see coal trains and the Tranz Alpine on the scenic part of the Midland Line, between Springfield and Greymouth. Being the middle of winter, a rare and spectacular hoar frost presented itself on the Cass Bank in the early morning of our first day chasing this line. This made the scenery around Cass and Avoca just that little bit more special than it already was.

Enjoy!