Miscellaneous and Happenings

DFB 7335 brings train A083 into Papakura on a certification run, with a 5-car train and DFB 7077 on the drawgear

19 January 2022

Heading south after spending the holidays in Auckland, DL 9020 leads the ballast cleaner back home towards Hamilton, as train WT19

20 January 2022

In the middle of the train, ETM 567 has a YK class wagon coupled at each end, and support vehicles for the train are also visible

20 January 2022

Passing through Pukekohe, DFB 7295 leads train 101 as it slows down for a work site just ahead

14 February 2022

With DFB 7077 on the tail end, train 101 rolls through Pukekohe station before stopping for a work site

14 February 2022

Train 101 passes the southbound platform at Pukekohe just before stopping for a work site. To the right is the new departure signal for the Up Main, moved from the road overpass

14 February 2022

Heading south, DFB 7077 stops at Rotokauri with train 101 to drop off passengers before heading to its final destination of Frankton

1 March 2022

Heading back north again, DFB 7295 leads train 102 into Rotokauri station, with DFB 7077 on the other end for the return journey

1 March 2022

DFB 7077 leads train 103 through Pokeno past construction for new housing. The train was running wrong line at this point, before switching back to the Down Main at Mercer

9 March 2022

After swapping with DFB 7077, DFB 7335 leads train 102 into Papakura, with DFB 7295 on the rear, as Te Huia heads into the Strand

17 March 2022

DL 9475 heads down the Whangarata bank with train MP7X as the train enters Pokeno. Although a Sunday, metroport services ran to a regular weekday timetable on this day to help clear some of the backlog from Easter closures

24 April 2022

A wider view as DL 9475 leads train MP7X into the new development at Pokeno

24 April 2022

Coasting down the Whangarata bank, DL 9475 leads train MP7X past multiple houses still under construction

24 April 2022

Train MP7X curves around the outskirts of new Pokeno development as DL 9475 leads the train through the town

24 April 2022

DFB 7049 leads train 102 into Papakura on a cloudy day, with DFB 7077 on the rear. DFB 7049 is standing in for DFB 7335 after the latter was sent to Hutt Workshops, and also features the now-standard door controls to be fitted to all DFBs

16 May 2022

Heading slowly into Papakura, DL 9325 leads train B66 with DL 9262 and DFB 7049 dead. The train was conveying two SR carriages from Hamilton to Auckland to use the wheel lathe at Westfield

26 May 2022

In a gap between shuttle services, the train passes through Papakura at a restricted speed of 40km/h, with two SR carriages en route to the wheel lathe

26 May 2022

DFB 7158 coasts down the Whangarata bank running as train B01, with the Northern Explorer consist in tow. The train is running a series of refresher courses in advance of the recommencement of the service in September

1 August 2022

ETM 432 heads through Pokeno on a run from Hamilton to Mission Bush, checking the quality of the track along the way

7 September 2022

DFB 7173 leads the Northern Explorer consist south through Pokeno. Running as train B021, the train is running a charter service from Auckland to Wellington on the regular Northern Explorer timetable. The charter was pushed back a week due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II

21 September 2022

Heading south through Pokeno, DFB 7307 leads train 201 back towards the locomotive's home of Wellington. DFB 7307 is nominally a Wairarapa locomitive, escaping to run the Northern Explorer

16 January 2023

AM 456 stops at Kingsland station on its way to Swanson, having just cleared the single track section through Mt Eden for City Rail Link construction

3 March 2023

Heading north, DFB 7077 leads Te Huia across Oram Road and the Whangamarino River as the train heads into Mercer, with DFB 7295 on the rear

14 April 2023

Heading south, Ww 644 on its first solo mainline trip crosses the Whangamarino River on a repositioning run to Hamilton. The train is set to run a KiwiRail charter over the weekend

14 April 2023

Ww 644 pulls into Glenbrook station, with ADL 810, ADL 805 and ADL 809 stored behind. A recent addition to the signal box is also in full view; a newly installed bell for the level crossing

3 June 2023

Ww 644 sitting at Glenbrook with a King's Birthday weekend service, the first such holiday in the GVR's history

3 June 2023

Sitting at Papakura, DFB 7335 and DFB 7077 wait with train 103 for departure time. As of this afternoon, Te Huia is no longer allowed to run north of Papakura due to several SPAD incidents, forcing train 102 to terminate here

11 July 2023

On the other end of the train, DFB 7077 sits idle on the rear. This is now as far north as Te Huia will travel until ETCS is fitted to the locomotives, due to several SPADs and returning to the pattern the service had on launch

11 July 2023

Passing through Homai, DFB 7295 leads a lengthy 6-car Te Huia towards The Strand, running as train 100. After Electronic Train Protection (ETP) was fitted to the locomotives, Waka Kotahi lifted the ban on the service travelling north of Papakura, allowing the service to resume running to The Strand after additional driver training

8 August 2023

DFB 7077 brings up the rear of the consist as train 100 approaches its next stop at Puhinui. For the first week the service is running back to The Strand, passengers travel free of charge and additional carriages were added in anticipation of higher demand

8 August 2023

DL 9089 and DL 9210 bring train 222 out of Pokeno towards Westfield, with EF 30105 in tow. The EF is heading to Westfield to use the wheel lathe, a semi-regular journey for the class

9 August 2023

Heading south light loco, DBR 1254 descends the Whangarata bank through Pōkeno, en route to Palmerston North. The locomotive is heading to Steam Inc for servicing until January 2024, and joins their Hawkes Bay Wine & Food by Rail Experience excursion on the return leg from Palmerston North to Paekakariki

27 October 2023

At Kingsland station, large crowds of people wait to catch a train home after Pink's concert at Eden Park. The station is designed to cope with the large volumes of people from events, after upgrades in 2011 for the Rugby World Cup - approximately 16,000 people travelled home from Kingsland station on each concert night

9 March 2024

Shortly before heading back out to Swanson, AM 687 displays its destination at Pinkland, a reference to the concert at Eden Park near Kingsland station. To assist with boarding the thousands of people waiting at Morningside, the train did not stop at Grafton or Kingsland stations on its way out

9 March 2024

On one of its weekly ETP test runs, DFB 7295 and DFB 7077 head north through Pōkeno as train A24 on their way to test between Papakura and Pukekohe. In the consist this time is SRV 5993, heading to Westfield

17 March 2024

SRV 5993, the solo carriage on the train, sits behind DFB 7077 on the consist on its way to Westfield for an unknown reason

17 March 2024

On Te Huia's third anniversary, SRV 5859 leads train 108 into Huntly station, with DFB 7077 pushing at the rear. Train 108 is one of the additional Saturday services introduced in February 2024

6 April 2024

With lucky timing, DFB 7282 powers south through Huntly with train 201, while train 108 waits for its passengers in the loop. Train 108 needs to cross train 201's path to continue north, so waits at the platform for a clear path ahead

6 April 2024

At the end of the journey at The Strand, SRV 5859 looks on at the Sky Tower, as an AM unit heads towards Newmarket

6 April 2024

Passengers disembark and head on their way to their final destination as SRV 5859 waits to lead the train to Westfield for stabling

6 April 2024

SRV 5993 bringing up the rear of train 108, a service it would normally lead

20 April 2024

DFB 7295 leads train 108 up the Whangarata bank through Pōkeno, with the set facing the opposite way to normal. Points failures at Waitematā and the redirection of the Eastern Line to The Strand the previous day prevented this set from reaching The Strand from Westfield, so commenced from Ōtāhuhu instead without running around the Southern/Eastern Line loop

20 April 2024

With Daylight Saving now over, train 103 makes most of its journey from Auckland to Hamilton in the dark. Here, DFB 7077 leads the train down the grade, with the carriage lights showing in a long exposure photo

26 April 2024

DFB 7049 coasts down the Whangarata bank with train 201, the Northern Explorer, on the drawgear

13 May 2024

A new addition to the Northern Explorer consist is kitchen car AKF 6112. The carriage is converted from an ex-Auckland SA carriage and is used to provide restaurant-quality food to Scenic Plus passengers, with the service coming soon to the Northern Explorer

13 May 2024

Under the night sky sits the remains of the Rotorua Branch near Lake Road, with the 1995-era platform still in place. The line was closed after the cancellation of the Geyserlander service in 2001

28 June 2024

DFB 7307, back on the Northern Explorer, rolls down the grade into Pōkeno, with train 201 in tow

26 September 2024

A new addition to the Northern Explorer is kitchen car AKF 5967, converted from an SA carriage and featuring the updated livery. Scenic Plus was added to the Northern Explorer from the previous day

26 September 2024