Rotorua Branch
| Rotorua Branch | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Mothballed |
| Locale | Waikato and Bay of Plenty |
| Termini |
Putaruru Koutu, Rotorua |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 24 November 1893 |
| Closed | 1989 (Rotorua city centre – Koutu) 7 October 2001 (entire line mothballed) |
| Owner | KiwiRail — Leased to Rotorua – Ngongotaha Rail Trust |
| Character | Rural |
| Rolling stock | None |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 50.5 km (31.4 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Single |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
The Rotorua Branch is a railway line from Putaruru to Rotorua, in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Construction of the line was commenced by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company and finished by the Public Works Department. The complete line, 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) in length, opened on 24 November 1893.
The line was partially constructed by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company. The company began planning of the line from 1877, following the passing of the District Railways Act 1877. Construction of the Rotorua line did not begin until after its survey, from 1881. The survey took 12 months to find a suitable route to Rotorua over the Mamaku Ranges.
The company only ever completed the section between Morrinsville and Tirau (called Oxford at that time), and this opened on 8 March 1886. The Government took over its operations in 1886. From this time onwards, the Public Works Department undertook construction of the line. The section to Lichfield on what is now the Kinleith Branch line was opened at the time of the Mount Tarawera eruption (21 June 1886). The line to Rotorua opened in 1893.
At the same time George Vesey Stewart proposed a railway route between Tauranga and Rotorua, but this did not eventuate.
The line from Rotorua was planned to become part of a line being built from Gisborne to link with Auckland via Te Teko and Rotorua, however only the Gisborne end of this proposed line was started, which later became known as the Moutohora Branch and the proposal to connect it with Auckland was later changed to be with the East Coast Main Trunk line via Tauranga.
The Rotorua line in its original form was a main line which ran from Morrinsville through to Rotorua. With the opening of the Kaimai Tunnel in 1978, the section of line between Morrinsville and Waharoa became part of the East Coast Main Trunk line between Hamilton and Kawerau, whilst the section of line between Waharoa and Kinleith became the Kinleith Branch line. The section of line between Putaruru and Rotorua becoming the Rotorua Branch line.
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Wikipedia