Rimutaka Rail Trail

Rimutaka Rail Trail
Cross Creek station yard, shelter shed, and beginning of the Incline.
Length	22 km (14 mi)
Location	Wellington, New Zealand
Trailheads	Cross Creek Kaitoke Maymorn
Use	Cycling Hiking Horse riding
Elevation
Highest point	1,141 ft (348 m)
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Grade 2

The Rimutaka Rail Trail is a walking and cycling track in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs between Maymorn and Cross Creek, and follows 22 kilometres (14 mi) of the original route of the Wairarapa Line over the Rimutaka Ranges between the Mangaroa Valley and the Wairarapa, including the world-famous Rimutaka Incline. Parts of the trail are also used by vehicles both from the regional council and from forestry companies with tree plantations in the area; members of the public have limited vehicular access from the Kaitoke end to a car park, go-kart track and gun range. Access is also granted by permission to horse riders. Touring coaches have been used upon occasion to convey tourists and other visitors to various parts of the route.

The trail is a popular regional recreation facility and is used by more than 30,000 walkers, runners, and cyclists annually. It is part of a network of walking and cycling trails in public parks and reserves in the area. Several forestry roads diverge from the rail trail and are also used for recreational purposes.

The Wellington City and Suburban Water Supply Board assumed ownership of the railway corridor land on the Wellington side of the Rimutaka Ranges following closure of the railway line in 1955. They retained the railway bridges so as to maintain vehicular access to the area for forestry purposes. Trees were planted by forestry staff around the summit yard and along the route from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Access was restricted, and it was rare for anyone to be granted permission to enter the area for recreation.

The Incline section became the responsibility of the New Zealand Forest Service. All railway-related structures were removed from Cross Creek and Summit in the years following closure of the line. The Cross Creek yard and incline section were gradually reclaimed by nature. The Siberia embankment collapsed during a severe storm in 1967 after its drainage became blocked. A similar problem caused the Summit tunnel to flood.

The publication of A Line Of Railway in 1976 and establishment of Featherston’s Fell Engine Museum helped spur interest in the Incline, prompting the Forest Service to provide permanent access to Cross Creek in 1984. In order to facilitate recreational use of the formation it drained Summit Tunnel and cleared the Cross Creek yard and incline formation. A proposal mooted in the mid 1980s for a walkway between Cross Creek and Kaitoke culminated in the opening of the Rimutaka Rail Trail on 1 November 1987, a joint project between the Wellington Regional Council and the Department of Conservation. Shelter sheds were constructed at Cross Creek and Summit, and several picnic areas along the route. A retaining wall and culverts were installed near the entrance to Price's Tunnel in 2009 by the Department of Conservation to remedy a slip that occurred the previous year.