Southerner (New Zealand train)The Southerner was a passenger express train in New Zealand's South Island between Christchurch and Invercargill along the South Island Main Trunk, that ran from Tuesday 1 December 1970 to Sunday 10 February 2002. It was one of the premier passenger trains in New Zealand and its existence made Invercargill the southernmost passenger station in the world. The service returned for a limited time in May 2025.
Dunedin railway stationDunedin railway station is a prominent landmark and tourist site in Dunedin, a city in the South Island of New Zealand. It is speculated by locals to be the most photographed building in the country, as well as the second most photographed in the southern hemisphere, after the Sydney Opera House. Dunedin Railways Station currently operates several tourist trains out of the station, The Taieri Gorge, The Seasider, and event trains.
South IslandOne of the two main New Zealand islandsThe South Island (official alternative name Te Waipounamu, from Māori) is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand by surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. With a population of 1,256,700 as of June 2025, the South Island is home to 24% of New Zealand's 5.3 million inhabitants. The most populous cities are Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson and Invercargill.
Dunedin Railways LimitedDunedin Railways Limited (formerly Dunedin Railways and Taieri Gorge Railway) is the registered name of Dunedin Railway Station, an operator of a railway line and tourist trains based at Dunedin Railway Station in the South Island of New Zealand. The company is a council-controlled trading organisation wholly owned by Dunedin City Council through its holding company Dunedin City Holdings Limited.
Main South LineThe Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin.WaitatiWaitati, from the Māori Waitete, is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre. The small Waitati River flows through the bay to the sea.
TrainA train (from Old Frenchtrahiner, from Latintrahere, "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often known simply as "engines"), though some are self-propelled, such as multiple units or railcars. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons or carriages. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails.
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.
TourismTourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes".
Otago Central RailwayThe Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The line was closed by the New Zealand Railways Corporation in 1990, with one section becoming the Taieri Gorge Railway operated by Dunedin Railway Station, and the section between Middlemarch and Clyde becoming a bicycle trail known as the Otago Central Rail Trail.
Port Chalmers BranchThe Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line to be built in the Otago Province and connects the city of Dunedin with Port Chalmers. The line is still operational today. Construction and early historyThe first calls for a rail line between Dunedin and Port Chalmers date back to 1861 but plans for a railway were not drawn up until 1870. Construction started in August 1870.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.