Stop the train: Town celebrates as KiwiRail puts Ruapehu town back on schedule

Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton celebrates the return of the Taumarunui stop on the main trunk line.

There was a big party at Taumarunui railway station as the Northern Explorer made its first scheduled passenger stop in over a decade.

And no-one could have been happier than Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton, who has been lobbying to have the stop reinstated for over three years.

The town celebrated with a party attended by hundreds of people on Sunday, and there was music, food stalls, and other attractions.

Kirton said the number of people who came out to welcome the Northern Explorer stopping at Taumarunui highlighted the degree to which the town identifies with its rail heritage.

“Thanks to the generous support of KiwiRail, [Ruapehu District] Council was able to invite people to tell us why they would like to be on the first train stopping at Taumarunui under the new itinerary for the chance to ride the Northern Explorer between National Park and Taumarunui,” he said.

“We had an overwhelming response to the contest, with around 60 people of all ages enjoying a fantastic outing, taking in the iconic Raurimu Spiral before being welcomed into Taumarunui by a cheering crowd.”

Kirton had been lobbying to have a regular rail service reinstated since he was elected as Horizons’ Ruapehu representative in 2019, and he delivered a petition with over 3000 signatures to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee at Parliament in February 2020.

Taumarunui, which has no public transport or taxi service, was dropped from the North Island main trunk service along with Marton and 10 other stops in 2012 when KiwiRail shifted its focus to tourism.

Elected as the district’s new mayor in October, Kirton wore his chains of office as he joined passengers on the train for the inaugural journey.

“People have been looking forward to this day for a long time, which will be a huge boost to the township and our visitor industry.”

Taumarunui’s status as a stop on the main trunk line was celebrated in the popular ballad Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line, recorded by folk singer Peter Cape in the 1950s, and its removal from the schedule had been lamented by locals and travellers during the past decade.

On Sunday, a local café served pies and cups of tea to recreate the 20th-century experience Cape sang about, and Kirton said he received an antique NZ Rail china cup as a gift along with a station master’s whistle.

“People went all out - it was a fantastic celebration,” he said.

Visit Ruapehu has been working with Great Journeys NZ to develop a range of rail-based tourism packages designed to attract visitors to the region and encourage them to stick around for longer stays.

Two new offerings are based around the Forgotten World rail cart adventures, and a range of Taumarunui-based activities are in the pipeline now that the rail stop has been reinstated.

Taumarunui is a gateway for visitors who want to cycle or walk the Timber Trail, fish or paddle on the Whakapapa or Whanganui Rivers, play golf at Tarrangower, or access the nearby national parks.

For Taumaranui locals, it will increase opportunities to visit the nearby attractions as well as plan rail excursions further afield, and Kirton said he aims to keep lobbying to make sure fares will be affordable.

“We have a lot of Gold Card users living in Taumaranui and the fares need to be reasonable for them,” he said.

“I will be calling on the Government to subsidise the fares, as it fits well with the aims of making public transport affordable while reducing carbon emissions at the same time.”

The train will now stop at Taumaranui six days a week from Wednesday to Monday.