The TranzAlpine . . .

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	Above:  The misty mountains...  The TranzAlpine train heads back from Greymouth to Christchurch... More photos below

Christchurch - Arthurs Pass - Greymouth on the "TranzAlpine" train...

It's perhaps the most scenic train ride in New Zealand, and one of the most scenic train trips anywhere in the world.  The TranzAlpine, run by New Zealand train operator Tranz Scenic, runs once daily between Christchurch, Arthur's Pass and Greymouth on the South Island's west coast, through the amazing misty mountain scenery of the Southern Alps.  The journey takes 4½ hours, and if you like you can go there and back in a day with an hour in Greymouth.  Or take the TranzAlpine one-way, and connect with buses down the west coast to Franz Josef Glacier.  Although I rate the North Island's Overlander from Auckland to Wellington as a far more historic and epic route, and in many ways almost equally scenic, you certainly won't regret buying a ticket for the TranzAlpine!  This page explains the TranzAlpine's timetable, fares, how to buy the cheapest tickets, and what there is to see on the journey.

On this page... TranzAlpine timetable TranzAlpine fares How to buy tickets What's it like on board? What to see on the way  Watch the video...

On other pages... Auckland - Wellington on the "Overlander" train Wellington - Picton by Interislander ferry Wellington - Christchurch by ferry & "Coastal Pacific" Christchurch-Dunedin-Invercargill by bus Christchurch-Queenstown bus service Dunedin-Queenstown train+bus service

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"Tranz-Alpine" timetables & fares...

The TranzAlpine is the most successful of all the Tranz Scenic train services, as it's very popular with tour groups because of the spectacular scenery through the Southern Alps between Christchurch and the South Island's west coast at Greymouth.  It's a fantastic trip that lives up to its reputation, though in many ways the TranzAlpine is not as epic or historic as the Auckland-Wellington Overlander.

Christchurch ► Greymouth			Greymouth ► Christchurch
"The Tranz-Alpine" train	Daily		The Tranz-Alpine" train	Daily
Depart Christchurch	08:15		Depart Greymouth	13:45
Arthur's Pass arrive/depart	10:42		Arthur's Pass arrive/depart	15:57
Arrive Greymouth	12:45		Arrive Christchurch	18:05

The TranzAlpine runs daily.  One-class seating, cafe-bar & open air viewing platform.  The journey is 223.8km.

Second earthquake June 2011:  The TranzAlpine stopped running temporarily, but should have resumed running on 15 June.  Please check with www.tranzscenic.co.nz.

First earthquake February 2011:  Both the TranzAlpine to Greymouth and TranzCoastal to Picton were suspended following the earthquake.  However, the TranzAlpine resumed running as from 7 March.  The TranzCoastal will be replaced by a bus from 7 March but will resume running from August 15th 2011, reverting to its original name, the Coastal Pacific.

Fares
Christchurch - Greymouth (normal fare)	NZ$ 185 (£97 or US$150)
Christchurch - Greymouth same day return	NZ$ 199 (£104 or US$162)

Children aged 2-14 travel at reduced fare,  Infants under 2 travel free.  New Zealand railpass information.

How to buy tickets...

Normally, the cheapest way to buy tickets for the TranzAlpine is online direct from the operator, Tranz Scenic, at www.tranzscenic.co.nz.  You pay by credit card and simply print out your own ticket, wherever you are in the world.  Or you can call 0800 TRAINS (0800 872 467) when you're in New Zealand, calls are free.  From outside New Zealand you can call 00 64 4 495 0775.  There are discounts for anyone over 60 and for students on the TranzAlpine, but to get these you need to book by phone. 

Cheaper tickets if you book by phone?  You'd think online booking would be cheapest.  But I receive a steady stream of emails reporting that phoning them results in a cheaper fare than the one offered by the online system, for example NZ$129 online, NZ$99 by phone.  So if you don't see any cheap promotional deals available online, only the full fare, try calling Christchurch i-SITE Visitor Centre on +64 3 379 9629 or Christchurch railway station on +64 4 341 2588 or try +64 3379 9629 as discounted tickets might still be available through them.  If you have any feedback on this issue, do let me know!

What's it like on board the Tranz-Alpine?

• Comfortable seating:  The TranzAlpine has comfortable seats, mostly arranged in bays of four around tables, but there's some unidirectional seating.  All seats line up with wide panoramic windows.  Seat numbers are not allocated at booking, but at check-in.

• Cafe-bar:  The TranzAlpine has a cafe bar serving snacks, drinks, tea, coffee, wine, beer, spirits and light microwaveable meals, at reasonable prices.  I can recommend the breakfast roll in the morning (NZ$7.50) and the Devonshire cream tea in the afternoon (NZ$6).

• Viewing platform:  There is a full-length open air viewing platform in the centre of the train, ideal for taking photographs or just watching the scenery, with nothing between you and the view.

• The TranzAlpine's coaches have been re-built from traditional New Zealand Railways coaches, built to a design which first appeared in 1938.  That's why they may appear antiquated from the outside, apart from their new panoramic windows, but inside the coaches have been refurbished to a very high standard.

• New 'AK' coaches may appear on this train from around September 2011, featuring massive picture windows and roof skylights, similar to Switzerland's famous Glacier Express.  There will also be a brand new 'premier class' introduced on the TranzAlpine from December.

Comfortable seating on the TranzAlpine train...		Taking pictures from the open air viewing car...

Travel tips...

• Free shuttle bus for Tranz Alpine departures from Christchurch:  Heading out from Christchurch to Greymouth, a free Tranz-Scenic shuttle (shuttle = shared minibus taxi) operates to a set timetable from most hotels and guesthouses in central Christchurch out to the railway station to meet the Tranz-Alpine departure for Greymouth.  There's no need to book, just ask your guesthouse (or freephone and ask Tranz Scenic) what time the shuttle leaves which hotel.  It departs between 07:00 and 07:40, for example, it leaves the Croydon B&B on Armagh Road at 07:13 to connect with the Tranz-Alpine's 08:15 departure for Greymouth.  Heading back from Greymouth, there is no free shuttle meeting train arrivals in Christchurch, but a fleet of normal shuttles to the city centre will be waiting for the train and cost about NZ$6 per person.

• Make a seating request:  Seats are not allocated at booking, but on departure.  If you book by phone (or book online and then call Tranz Scenic's freephone number when you get to NZ at least the day before travel, quoting your booking reference) you can make a seating request.  Seats on the right-hand side of the train going to Greymouth probably get the best views, or the left-hand side returning to Christchurch.  Keen photographers could also request seats close to the viewing platform.  Families or small groups may prefer a bay of 4 seats around a table to unidirectional seats.  Requests can't be guaranteed, of course, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

The TranzAlpine stops briefly at Springfield in the Canterbury Plain.  The Southern Alps lie dead ahead...		The scenery on this route is world-class, and it's easy to take great photo's from the open-air viewing car.

The Waimakiriri Gorge, seen from the TranzAlpine as it starts its climb into the Southern Alps...		The Tranz-Alpine train ascends into the Southern Alps over a series of girder bridges and tunnels...

Arthur's Pass, just before the Otira Tunnel.		Beyond Otira, the train follows a broad river valley...

A journey on the Tranz-Alpine...

• You should check in at least 20 minutes before departure at Christchurch's Tranz Scenic railway station.  This small modern rail terminal opened in 1993 in the suburb of Addington, about 3 km (1.5 miles) southwest of Christchurch city centre.  You check-in at the desks in the main entrance hall, where you are allocated your seat numbers.  Heavy baggage must be checked in to the baggage car.  The station stands in the middle of an unremarkable industrial estate, but this whole area was once the massive Addington railway works where many of New Zealand Railways' locomotives and rolling stock were made.  There's little left to show for it now!  Christchurch's original railway station was located on Moorhouse Avenue immediately to the south of the city centre.  The old station building, completed in 1960 to a design first published in 1938, still stands and is now the 'Science Alive' entertainment centre.  If you take the free shuttle taxi to the station, you may drive past it.

• The TranzAlpine leaves Christchurch at 08:15, and within ten minutes the Addington cement works and freight yards give way to small wooden suburban bungalows.  Minutes later the train is crossing flat open farmland, doing 60mph across the Canterbury plain heading relentlessly towards the snow-capped Southern Alps on the horizon.

• The train passes fields of sheep, cattle, and red deer, passes the small commuter town of Darfield, and the first tentative foothills appear.  At around 9am the train calls at Springfield, where fresh muffins are loaded aboard for the cafe-bar...

• At around 09:20 the TranzAlpine starts its climb into the Southern Alps, with views of the stunning Waimakiriri River gorge to the right.

• As it climbs, the train crosses a series of steel girder bridges over deep gorges and through a series of short tunnels.  The highest viaduct is the famous 'Staircase', 73 metres above the river.  The scenery here is spectacular.

• By about 09.40, the train reaches a grassy plateau dotted with hills.  Hills give way to more mountains, liberally hung with mist.

• At 10:15 the TranzAlpine stops at Arthurs Pass station, surrounded by yet more mist-laden mountains, and there's time to get out , stretch your legs and take photographs.

• Almost immediately after leaving Arthurs Pass the train enters the Otira Tunnel.  At 8.6 kilometres (5.3 miles) long, it's one of the longest tunnels in New Zealand.  It was only completed in 1923, allowing direct train travel from east to west across the South Island.  This section of line was once electrified, but now a door closes behind each train, allowing the train to act as a huge piston, forcing the diesel fumes out.

• Just the other side of the tunnel is Otira itself, where the TranzAlpine makes a very brief call.  Otira was a railway town, running the railway that kept the coal flowing from the west coast coalfields to Christchurch and the rest of New Zealand.

• The train now follows a deep valley containing a broad shallow river.  It crosses that river on a low bridge several times.  Ever more mist-laden mountains flank the valley, a wonderful part of the journey.  Watch out for waterfalls...

• At around 12:00 the TranzAlpine passes the site of the Old Brunner Mine, just across the valley on the other side of the Grey River.  This was the site of New Zealand's worst mining disaster in 1896.  An ancient suspension bridge links the railway side of the river with the mine.

• The train passes Dobson, an old coal-mining town though all the mines are now closed.

• The TranzAlpine reaches Greymouth, a small town even by New Zealand standards, but it's the west coast's main centre.  Even if it was warm and sunny in Christchurch, don't be surprised if you need your umbrella in Greymouth!  Greymouth's wooden station building now houses an extensive gift shop and travel centre.  Buses leave from just outside the station for destinations down the west coast, including Franz Josef Glacier.  If you're returning to Christchurch the same day you have an hour to explore the town or find some food - try the Cafe 124, on the main road just along from the station.  The town clock is on the river bank, originally housed in the tower of the impressive colonial post office.  The post office and its tower were demolished as they were thought to be an earthquake risk, and the clock now stands in its own short wooden tower.  Next to it on the river bank is a sign which warns against eating fish caught next to the nearby sewer outlet.  Welcome to Greymouth..!

The train snakes its way through the Misty Mountains....		Enjoying a Devonshire cream tea from the cafe-bar.

The TranzAlpine runs along a broad valley flanked by mist-laden mountains, crossing and re-crossing the river several times...		Nearing Greymouth, the TranzAlpine passes the Brunner Mine, site of New Zealand's worst mining disaster in 1896...

Journey's end:  The TranzAlpine arrived at Greymouth station on the rainy west coast of NZ's south island.		The town clock at Greymouth.  The sign on the right warns you not to eat fish caught next to the sewer outlet!

Watch the video - A journey on the Tranzalpine... This video gives an excellent idea of just how good the TranzAlpine train ride can be! Video by Robanca

Tranz-Scenic Railpass:  Check prices & buy online in UK...

There is an excellent Tranz Scenic Railpass giving unlimited travel on all Tranz-Scenic trains including the TranzAlpine, and (if you buy the ferry-inclusive version), the Interislander Ferry between Wellington and Picton.  If you're going to travel on all 3 trains from Auckland to Wellington, across on the ferry, down to Christchurch and on to Greymouth, the 7-day pass is cheaper than buying normal tickets.  Note that you still need to make free seat reservations, you cannot just hop on any train without a reservation.  To buy online in the UK, see www.internationalrail.com.  For more information, see www.tranzscenic.co.nz.  Once you have a railpass, it's easy to make seat reservations to go with it simply by calling Tranz Scenic on 0800 TRAINS (0800 872 467) when you're in New Zealand, or in advance from outside New Zealand by calling 00 64 4 495 0775.