We are delighted to share in the joy of our friends at Great Journeys of New Zealand and announce that that KiwiRail’s iconic Coastal Pacific scenic journey will roll again between Picton and Christchurch from 1 December 2018 this year. This well-loved service will be running again this summer, two years after the service was put on hold because of the devastating Kaikoura earthquake.
With the sea stretching to the horizon in the east and the Kaikoura mountains stretching to the sky in the west, the Coastal Pacific is one of the most astonishingly beautiful journeys in New Zealand. The re-establishment of this service will, once again, allow thousands of travellers from around the world to enjoy this spectacular coastline by train.
The Coastal Pacific will run seven days a week from 1 December 2018 through until 28 April in 2019, with services departing Christchurch at 7am each morning and Picton at 2:15pm each afternoon. The five-hour journey includes 98km travelling along the rugged Pacific Coastline. It also journeys through 22 tunnels and crosses 175 bridges, and has key stops along the route include Rangiora, Kaikoura and Blenheim.