Dunedin’s decades-long wait for passenger rail to return is almost over with a new service set to link with city with Christchurch and Invercargill.<\/p>\n
The Mainlander train will initially launch for a three-day timetable during the January school holidays, operator\u00a0Rail and Tourism Group announced today.<\/p>\n
An adult ticket will cost $199 for the Dunedin to Christchurch leg and $169 for Dunedin to Invercargill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Campaigners have been calling for the return of passengers rail since the demise of the Southerner between Invercargill and Christchurch is 2002.<\/p>\n
Rail and Tourism Group chief executive\u00a0Paul Jackson said the next set of monthly dates would be released shortly, with future services expected to follow a regular pattern of departing on Fridays and returning on Sundays.<\/p>\n
The inaugural timetable included Christchurch to Dunedin on January 20, Dunedin to Invercargill on January 21, Invercargill to Dunedin on January 22 and a return service from Dunedin to Christchurch on January 23.<\/p>\n
Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker described the announcement as “a huge win for Dunedin”.<\/p>\n
“The public has been calling for more rail connections between the South Island\u2019s main centres, and this is a significant step toward that.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier this year, a Christchurch\u2013Dunedin rail experience sold out quickly, showing strong demand for rail as both a travel option and a tourism experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cVisitors will now be able to travel down the east coast and arrive directly at one of the world\u2019s most spectacular railway stations, right in the heart of \u014ctepoti.”<\/p>\n
Dunedin Railways general manager Rebekah Jenkins said\u00a0the arrival of The Mainlander marks “an exciting new chapter for Dunedin and the wider region”.<\/p>\n
“Having this service come to Dunedin opens the door for more visitors to discover the Taieri Gorge and explore everything our city and region have to offer.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a fantastic boost for Dunedin\u2019s tourism sector and local economy, creating new connections, new partnerships, and fresh opportunities to showcase the heart of Otago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mainlander was also expected to attract domestic and international visitors looking for an immersive rail experience, supporting tourism, hospitality, events and the broader regional economy.<\/p>\n
Inaugural itinerary<\/p>\n
Tuesday, Jan 20
09:00am – Departs Addington Christchurch
16:20pm – Arrives Dunedin<\/p>\n
Wednesday, Jan 21
10:00am – Departs Dunedin
14:57pm – Arrives Invercargill<\/p>\n
Thursday, Jan 22
12:50pm – Departs Invercargill
18:04pm – Arrives Dunedin<\/p>\n
Friday, Jan 23
08:00am – Departs Dunedin
15:15pm – Returns Addington Christchurch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dunedin’s decades-long wait for passenger rail to return is almost over with a new service set to link…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-157492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}