Trains
and Rail in New Zealand
1.
History
The origins of trains and the
rail system in New Zealand trace back to individual efforts made by certain
provinces of the country and entrepreneurs from the 1860s onwards. (Brief Rail
History, 2013) Then, thanks to special importance placed by Prime Minister
Julius Vogel, the development of the use of trains and rail became a major item
of his programme. As a result not only the use of this technology flourished by
means of the expansion of the rail system but also the country’s growth thrived
as well. From the 1870s railway lines opened up areas of New Zealand for
settlement. Railways connected farms, forests and mines to markets and ports,
and fostered the growth of towns. (Atkinson, 2012)
New Zealand’s first steam-powered
public railway was a 7-kilometre line from Christchurch to Ferrymead, which
opened in 1863. Built by the Canterbury provincial government, this line used
tiny British-built tank engines and a broad 5-foot 3-inch (1,600-millimetre) “Irish”
gauge track. (Atkinson, 2012)
The
image on the left is a painting by W.W. Stewart that portrays New Zealand’s
first railway in Christchurch, 1863. The depictedscene corresponds to the first
ever trip made by the locomotive “Pilgrim”, of the Canterbury provincial
railway.(New Zealand’s first railway, 2013)
In terms of the sources of energy
on which trains operated, the railways were mostly steam-powered until the
1950s. The last scheduled steam service was in 1971. Today, people enjoy
special outings on old-fashioned steam trains. There were some electric-powered
trains from the 1920s and 1930s, and from 1949 there were diesel engines.(Atkinson,
2012)
The image on the right is an
invitation to the opening of the first electric multiple-unit service in New
Zealand, on the Wellington–Johnsonville line in 1938.
As to a comparison between these
different energy sources, the advantages of diesel and electric engines over
steam locomotives are described in a 1956 film clip that can be accessed
through the following link: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/21394/changing-engines
By 1953 the rail network reached
its peak in terms of network reach - 5,689 kilometres. But advances in air and
road transport began to cut into its competitive advantage. (Brief Rail History,
2013) Despite the construction of several new forestry lines in the Bay of
Plenty in the 1950s (and numerous deviations and improvements elsewhere), New Zealand’s
great rail-building days were over. Waves of branch-line closures, beginning in
the late 1950s, reduced the national network to 3,898 kilometres in the early
2000s.(Atkinson, 2012)
Electrification of North Island
main trunk started in 1984 and was completed in 1988 at a cost of $250 million.
(Brief Rail History, 2013)
In 2007 the New Zealand government
announced another major electrification project, with the conversion of the
Auckland suburban network (currently served by diesel-hauled trains and diesel
multiple units) due to be completed by 2013.(Atkinson, 2012)
1.
Social
Impacts
Once the implementation of this
technology began in New Zealand it was very significant in terms of changing
how things were being done in the country. Most of New Zealand’s early colonial
settlements were built on the coast. European settlers, like Māori before them,
relied on sea and river transport to link their isolated communities. Overland
travel was often extremely difficult, especially in heavily forested, swampy or
mountainous areas. (Atkinson, 2012)As we can see, due to this technology and
the way the rail system spread throughout New Zealand, it was a very
significant factor in terms of modelling and shaping how communities were
settled throughout the country, on both the North and South Islands.
In terms of industry development
and employment, railroad construction has had important effects on the industry
of engineering as well as on industries related with certain materials such as
timber and iron used for the rail tracks. Railways opened up thousands of
opportunities for work.With almost 20,000 employees in 1930 and 27,000 in 1950,
the Railways Department was for many years New Zealand’s largest employer. The
“railway people” had a strong sense of identity and their own distinctive
culture, reinforced by family and social networks, departmental housing, trade
unions, bands, clubs, sports teams and picnics.(Atkinson, 2012)
Nevertheless, at times due to
restructuring and financial constraints, it also has had great impacts on the
rates of unemployment in New Zealand. For instance, over the years there was a
significant reduction in the number of employees, from 21,000 in 1982 to 3,757
in 2002. (Brief Rail History, 2013) From the 1950s the railways declined. Many
branch lines and stations closed, and people lost their jobs. In 1993 the
railway system was sold to a private buyer – but in the 2000s the government
bought the railways back. There is renewed interest in using rail to transport
goods and people. (Atkinson, 2012)
As it also occurred around the
globe, with the expansion of the rail system, the transport of people was
changed allowing better connectionsbetween different areas of the country. Trains
linked the nation, carrying people, raw materials, and spread ideas for new
ways of cultivating agriculture. Speed and ability to travel regardless of the weather
conditions made rail travel attractive to travellers and businesses. (Trains
and the world) This improved communications since the transport of mail and
parcels began to be carried out using this means of transport. In 1878 the
first railway travelling post office was established between Christchurch and
Dunedin. They were soon attached to most express trains, the mail sorters
working to the train’s rocking, swaying motion. People could post letters
through slots on the side, and guards’ vans also routinely carried mail. Road
and air competition undermined rail’s mail business from the 1930s, and the
last railway travelling post office was withdrawn in 1971.(Atkinson, 2012)
In contrast to the more
passenger-oriented rail networks of Europe, New Zealand’s system has always
been primarily a freight railway.For almost a century, the state used New
Zealand Railways as a developmental agency to foster domestic agriculture,
mining, forestry and manufacturing. Mining and timber companies were major rail
users from the 1870s, and New Zealand Railways itself was a voracious consumer
of coal and timber until well after the Second World War. (Atkinson, 2012)
In particular, trains and the
rail system gained special importance for the transport of farm freight. Farmers
were important rail customers until the 1960s. Canterbury’s extensive network
facilitated that region’s grain boom in the late 19th century, and from the
1880s railways played a vital role in the development of the lucrative export
trade in refrigerated meat. Livestock transport was the lifeblood of many rural
branch lines in the first half of the 20th century. Successive governments
bowed to pressure from the farming lobby by cutting rail-freight rates on
butter, cheese, wool, fruit and other products, delivering lime for free, and
subsidising transport to and from agricultural and pastoral shows. (Atkinson,
2012) Despite the closures, in the 2000s New Zealand’s rail system carried more
tonnes of freight than at any other time in its history. Many products and
freight-handling practices had changed; most rail freight was carried in bulk
or in containers, over longer distances and in fewer but far bigger trains,
with minimal wagon shunting en route. While coal and timber products remained
important, new customers like the major dairy company Fonterra had become
increasingly valuable. (Atkinson, 2012)
References
1.
Atkinson, Neill. Railways - Building the rail network,
TeAra - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 13 July 2012. Retrieved on
23-26 August 2013 from: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/railways/
2.
Brief
Rail History.
Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from:http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/about-us/history-of-kiwirail.html
3.
National
Rail Strategy to 2015,
New Zealand Ministry of Transport, May 2005. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013
from:
4.
New
Zealand’s first railway, Christchurch, 1863. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013
from: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/painting-pilgrim-train-1863
5.
Trains
and the world.
Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from:http://traingogo.weebly.com/social-impact.html
