NZR RM Class (Silver Fern) - Current Use

Current Use

Following a refurbishment of RM 30, Tranz Scenic have been operating various excursion services under their new "Explore by Rail" brand. The first of these excursion services was the "Silver Fern - Otaki and Beyond Tour" which commenced on 19 September 2009. This saw RM30 travelling from Wellington to Feilding and return on 5 Saturdays between September and December 2009. Since the Otaki and Beyond Tour, RM 30 has been used on other Explore by Rail services including:

  • A special Valentine's Day trip in February 2010 from Wellington to Chateau Tongariro (via National Park) for an overnight stay.
  • East Coast Explorer: Runs during Easter weekend 2010. This sees RM30 leave Wellington on the Friday heading to Napier, then up to Gisborne on the Saturday and return on Sunday. The service will then return to Wellington on the Monday.
  • Hawkes Bay Weekender: Operates every second weekend of each month between May and October 2010. This service departs Wellington and travels up to Napier on the Saturday and returns to Wellington on the Sunday.
  • ANZAC Day - National Park Tour: A special ANZAC weekend service where travellers will go from Wellington to Chateau Tongariro (via National Park) on the Saturday. On the Sunday travellers will leave Chateau Tongariro for Waiouru where they will be taken to the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum where they will attend an ANZAC service followed by a tour of the museum before heading back to Wellington.

After a recent petition by the Campaign for Better Transport which received around 11,500 signatures to start a Waikato rail service between Hamilton and Auckland (like the Waikato Connection which ceased in 2001), it looked likely that RM 18 and 24 will be used to provide this service, yet late in 2011 the councils involved voted against the Waikato Connection reinstatement based on financial and operational grounds.

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