The Northern Explorer

The route

The North Island Main Trunk took 23 years to build. The first sod was turned beside the Pūniu River near Te Awamutu on 15 April 1885, and the two halves met in the bush of the central plateau in 1908. On 6 November that year the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, drove a polished silver spike at Manganuioteao in bad weather and mud. The first regular expresses, from February 1909, took about 18 hours.

The hard part was the middle. At Raurimu the line had to climb onto the plateau in too short a distance for a train to manage directly. In 1898 the engineer Robert Holmes worked out the answer, and it was built between 1905 and 1907. The Raurimu Spiral is a set of horseshoe curves, a full circle and two tunnels, and the track passes over itself. South of it, viaducts carry the line across the ravines below Ruapehu; Makatote, from 1908, is still in use.

The line also crossed land that was not the Crown’s to cross. Te Rohe Pōtae, the King Country, was a Māori stronghold, and around 1884 the government reached an agreement with Ngāti Maniapoto leaders to let the railway through. In 2018 the Waitangi Tribunal found that the Crown did not keep many of the agreements it made with Te Rohe Pōtae Māori about the railway.

On Christmas Eve 1953, at Tangiwai, a lahar from Ruapehu’s crater lake weakened the bridge over the Whangaehu River just before the Wellington to Auckland night express reached it. The locomotive and tender went into the river with five carriages, and a sixth followed; 151 of the 285 people on board died. It remains New Zealand’s worst rail disaster. The place lies between Ohakune and Waiouru, and a historic reserve marks it.

What the rail journey is like

The open-air carriage is what riders remember. Lloyd Alter, a Canadian writer who described his trip on his own Substack in September 2024, spent much of the day out there. Kerry Whigham, riding north and writing in December 2024, called it standing room with nothing in the way of the view. It is cold on the plateau, and anything you drop is gone, but every account that mentions it rates it the best thing on the train.

Inside, the carriages have big windows that curve into the roof, a socket at each seat according to Seat61, and a screen with a map that follows the train. A recorded commentary plays through headphones, and two writers were surprised how few passengers used it. Whigham counted it a favourite part. “Not a luxury train, by any stretch,” he wrote, and he found the food neither great nor bad.

The café sells coffee, pies, New Zealand wine and beer, and the operator says you may bring your own food. Alter’s beef pie came to his seat on a silver tray. If you want a proper meal, Scenic Plus brings a seasonal menu to your seat, cooked in the train’s kitchen carriage.

The day has a shape. The first hours run through Waikato farmland, which one rider found troubling for how much forest had been cleared. Then the country rises: the King Country hills, the Spiral, the plateau with Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe in view on a clear day, the viaducts, and the river gorges of the Rangitīkei. The last hour runs down the Kāpiti Coast, between cliffs and the Tasman Sea.

For something to watch before you go, SBS’s series New Zealand From A Train opens with this journey.

The stages

The times are Seat61’s for the southbound train; the operator gives times only by phone, so confirm them when you book. Northbound, Seat61 gives 7.55am from Wellington and 6.50pm into Auckland, but another source has both an hour earlier, so check. No source we found says which side of the train has the better view.

Stops worth breaking the journey for

With three trains a week, breaking the journey means staying two or three days. We found no stopover rules on the operator’s pages; tickets appear to be sold station to station, so expect two bookings and confirm when you book. These four stops reward it.

Hamilton

The Waikato’s city, on the river. We stayed in Hamilton East in March 2026, close to the free part of Hamilton Gardens. Our guide to Hamilton.

Ōtorohanga

The train normally stops here, though one source says only in summer. A small King Country town whose Kiwi House opened in 1971 as New Zealand’s first. The Waitomo glowworm caves are a short drive away. Our guide to Waitomo.

National Park

The village at the top of the Spiral and the base for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, one of the country’s best-known day walks. Our guide to National Park village.

Ohakune

The southern gateway to Ruapehu. The Old Coach Road walk and cycle trail crosses the old curved Hāpuawhenua viaduct of 1908, which the trains left in 1987.

Planning the journey

Where to sit

You cannot choose a seat when you book: the train manager allocates them, though you can ask by phone for a preference. Most seats face the way the train is going, and groups of four can ask for one of the few facing bays. We found no reliable source that recommends one side. The open-air carriage is open to every passenger, so your seat matters less than it might.

Scenic or Scenic Plus?

Booking and fares

The operator offers 10% off for Senior Gold Card holders and members of the AA and the NZMCA. Book online or on 0800 872 467, and read the fare conditions for refunds before you pay; we could not read them.

One way or there and back?

One way. Fly back: Air New Zealand and Jetstar both fly between Wellington and Auckland, or take the InterCity coach, which Rome2rio puts at about 11 hours. If you only want the Auckland to Hamilton end, Te Huia runs between Hamilton and The Strand. In June 2026 Waikato Regional Council voted to raise its adult Bee Card fare to NZ$32.50, so check the current fare and times. And if you have a car, our guide to getting around New Zealand sets out the road.

Travelling with a mobility need, and luggage

The café carriage has spaces designed for wheelchairs, powerchairs and mobility scooters, and trained service animals may travel. The operator does not say how many spaces there are, so ask when you book. You may check in one bag of up to 23 kg and carry one cabin bag of up to 7 kg, plus a small bag for valuables; wheeled cases must be checked in. Bikes are among the extras you can add when booking; we could not find the fee, so ask before you pay.

At Auckland the train leaves from The Strand in Parnell, not from Britomart. Check-in opens at 6.45am and closes 20 minutes before departure. One rider followed the signs into an industrial car park, so allow time to find it.

If the journey breaks down

The line runs through steep, wet country, and slips happen:

• On 22 September 2025 a slump under the track in the King Country turned the southbound train back to Ōtorohanga, and its 159 passengers went on to Wellington by bus. Expect a coach if the line is cut.
• The operator warns of minor delays from the terrain and the weather, and one rider was about half an hour late at National Park. Leave room before an evening flight or ferry.
• Check the dates: the train does not run from 25 December 2026 to 11 January 2027, and the line closes for maintenance at other times too.