Kaimai Express - Operation

Operation

In 1991, the Silver Ferns that operated the daily between Wellington and Auckland were replaced by the locomotive-hauled Overlander, and new routes from Auckland were found for the Silver Ferns, the Geyserland Express to Rotorua and the Kaimai Express to Tauranga. The latter train's name came from the Kaimai Tunnel through the Kaimai Ranges; this tunnel was opened on 12 September 1978 and provided a much faster and more direct route to the Bay of Plenty. This meant services operated substantially faster than the previous Taneatua Express and 88-seater railcars.

The first Kaimai Express ran on 9 December 1991 and consisted of a morning service from Tauranga to Auckland and afternoon service from Auckland to Tauranga. The train took roughly 3.5 hours in each direction.

In 2000 timings were changed to enable the introduction of the Waikato Connection commuter service between Hamilton and Auckland. The southbound service departed Auckland at 8:20am and reached Tauranga 3 hours 31 minutes later at 11:51am. The northbound service left Tauranga at 1:05pm and reached Auckland at 4:34pm, 3 hours 29 minutes later.

Consideration was made at one point by Tranz Rail to extend the Kaimai Express service to Mount Maunganui, but this did not eventuate.

The Kaimai Express did not make a profit, and in 2001 it was announced that the service was too uneconomic for Tranz Rail to continue. No subsidies came forth from the government to sustain its operation, and no private companies wished to invest in it. It operated for the final time on 7 October 2001.