KiwiRail Scenic
| Brand | |
| Industry | Rail transport in New Zealand |
| Founded | 1987 (as InterCity Rail) |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
|
Area served
|
New Zealand |
| Services | Long-distance passenger trains |
| Parent | KiwiRail (2011 - present) |
| Website | http://www.greatjourneysofnz.co.nz/ |
Now called The Great Journeys of New Zealand, KiwiRail Scenic Journeys is the former long-distance passenger train brand of KiwiRail, previously Tranz Scenic (1995—2011) and InterCity Rail (1987—1995).
The first branding of long-distance trains was as InterCity Rail, in 1987, renamed Tranz Scenic in 1995.
As part of a restructuring programme, in November 2001 Tranz Scenic was incorporated as stand-alone subsidiary Tranz Scenic (2001) Ltd. Tranz Rail sold 50% of Tranz Scenic to two directors of the Victoria, Australia, rail operator West Coast Railway for $33 million. The sale included long-distance passenger rolling stock and ten diesel locomotives of the DC class (reclassified DCP), and two EF class electric locomotives. Tranz Rail was taken over by Australian transport firm Toll Holdings in 2003, and in July 2004 the 50% share of Tranz Scenic was purchased by Toll, as one of the West Coast Railway directors had died and the business was not performing adequately.
In July 2012 it was revealed that KiwiRail was considering selling the remaining services. However, no buyers were found and the long-distance passenger services remain operated by Tranz Scenic.
In 2017, the KiwiRail Scenic Journeys brand was renamed The Great Journeys of New Zealand and KiwiRail's passenger ferry brand, Interislander, was added to its services.
KiwiRail Scenic operates four scheduled trains:
KiwiRail trialled excursions with its refurbished Silver Fern railcar to destinations including Napier and on the now mothballed Gisborne line as part of its Explore By Rail trips. Other Silver Fern tours included a Queen's Birthday day tour to Napier, tours to the Tui brewery via the Manawatu Gorge, an Easter Weekend trip to Gisborne, Valentine's Weekend and ANZAC Weekend tours to the central North Island. These excursions have been discontinued as of 2017.
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Wikipedia