East Coast Main Trunk


The East Coast Main Trunk is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau, with a branch line to Taneatua from the junction at Hawkens. The line is built to narrow gauge of, the uniform gauge in New Zealand. It was known as the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until 2011, when the word "Railway" was dropped.

History

Construction

In 1880, the North Island Main Trunk railway had reached Frankton, Hamilton, from Auckland. From there, it was delayed by construction of the original Waikato River bridge, before the line made its way to Morrinsville in October 1884, Te Aroha in March 1886 and Paeroa in 1898. There were also minor delays, such as in the delivery of totara sleepers. The route to Waihi through the Karangahake Gorge was surveyed in the next few years with construction starting in 1900, with three bridges, including a road-rail bridge and a kilometre-long tunnel, which has a 1:50 grade and took three years to build, being completed in 1904. The line between Paeroa and Waihi opened in November 1905. Surveys were undertaken for the route beyond Waihi in 1907 and construction started in March 1912, but was suspended in November of the same year. The work started again in 1914, but was suspended again in March 1917 because of a shortage of staff due to World War I. The works started again in 1918, and the railway through the Athenree Gorge opened to Tahawai in 1927 and Tauranga in March 1927. The remaining length of line to Te Puke and Taneatua opened in 1928, and the Taneatua Express started in 1929.

Original intention of the rail line

Originally in the 1910s and 1920s, the East Coast Main Trunk line was to run from Pokeno to Gisborne via Paeroa, Tauranga, Opotiki and through the Waioeka Gorge, connecting with the Moutohora Branch to Gisborne; creating a link from the isolated Gisborne Section line to Auckland via the Bay of Plenty. This followed on from an original proposal to link Gisborne with Auckland with a line via Rotorua, with a Gisborne-Rotorua line from Makaraka to Motu of about 37 miles being authorised by the Railways Authorisation Act, 1904.
Gisborne was however subsequently linked to the south with Wellington via Wairoa and Palmerston North by the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line in 1942.
Work began on extending the line from the Taneatua Branch to Opotiki in March 1928 and on building the Paeroa–Pokeno Line in 1938, when the Minister of Public Works Bob Semple on 28 January turned the first sod it was said that the proposed 29 mile line would shorten the distance from Auckland to towns on the ECMT by nearly 50 miles.
However, due to two World Wars, an economic depression, and an influenza epidemic, the full railway was never completed. In June 1928, 250 men employed by the Public Works Department were dismissed, to be replaced by NZR staff.
As late as 1939 £45,000 was provided for extension from Taneatua to Opotiki.
Several routes for the link from the Moutohora Branch to the Taneatua Branch were surveyed, but the expense of a line descending to the Bay of Plenty could not be justified.

Kaimai Tunnel deviation

The Kaimai Tunnel runs for 8,896 m under the Kaimai Ranges. Construction started from both sides of the range in 1969: the headings met in 1976 and the tunnel opened on 12 September 1978 - at which time it became the longest tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere until it was eclipsed by the 13,400 m No. 4 tunnel of the Hex River Tunnels system.

Closure of the northern route

After the opening of the Kaimai Tunnel, the route through the Karangahake Gorge to the eastern junction closed in 1978 and was dismantled in 1980. The railway from Morrinsville to Paeroa stayed open and continued to Thames until closure in 1991 and lifting between Waitoa and Thames in 1996/1997. The 11 km section from Morrinsville to Waitoa reopened in 2004 to serve the Fonterra dairy factory at Waitoa. The rail bridge at Te Aroha is now a walkway over the Waihou River; the route from the tunnel to Waikino through the Karangahake Gorge is now a walkway; from Waikino to Waihi the Goldfields Railway heritage line preserves the old railway; and State Highway 2 runs through the Athrenee Gorge along part of the original rail alignment. Along various parts of State Highway 2, various parts of the old railbed, bridge piers and abutments are still visible. Old bridges are also extant at Waitoa, Te Aroha, Karangahake, Waikino and Aongatete. Near Apata, the old and newer bridges of both routes can be seen from the highway spanning the Wainui Stream.

Passenger services

Taneatua Express

When the line opened to its terminus at Taneatua, the Taneatua Express ran from Auckland. The service took 12 hours, later reduced to 10½ hours, and ran two or three times weekly. The last train ran on 7 February 1959, and was replaced by a railcar service as far as Te Puke, due to negligible traffic to Taneatua. The railway struggled to compete with private cars and the service was withdrawn on 11 September 1967. Other than special excursions, there were no passenger services until 1991.

Kaimai Express

In 1991, the Kaimai Express started and ran to Tauranga. Along with the Geyserland Express it used the Silver Fern railcars that had been used on the North Island Main Trunk line. The first train ran on 9 December 1991, running a morning service from Tauranga to Auckland and afternoon service from Auckland to Tauranga, taking 3½ hours. The times changed in 2000 to enable the introduction of the Waikato Connection commuter service between Hamilton and Auckland. In 2001, it was announced that the service was too uneconomic to continue, and the last service was on 7 October 2001.

Freight

The ECMT carries 52% of freight between Waikato and Bay of Plenty and is one of Kiwi Rail's most profitable lines. In 2018 163 trains a week passed under Hamilton, 90 of them on weekday nights, or evenings, 37 at weekends and 36 between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. The line is at 70% capacity and growing.
To provide extra capacity crossing loops were added about 2012 at Ruakura, Eureka, Motumaoho, Tamihana and Apata. In 2020 a new container terminal at Kawerau was announced.

Connecting lines

Line NameDate OpenedDate ClosedECMT JunctionTerminusLengthNotes
North Island Main Trunk19 December 1877OpenFrankton JunctionAuckland/Wellington680 km
Cambridge Branch8 October 1884OpenRuakura JunctionHautapu14.8 kmHautapu-Cambridge section closed and lifted 1999.
Rotorua Branch8 March 18867 October 2001Morrinsville JunctionRotorua110 kmBuilt by Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Co. First 24.6 km added to ECMT on opening of Kaimai Deviation, 1978. Section between Waharoa and Kinleith became Kinleith Branch in 1978, with Rotorua Branch becoming secondary branch section between Putaruru and Rotorua. Last 2 km of Rotorua Branch closed and lifted in 1989 with station relocated to Koutu. Rotorua Branch mothballed 2002.
Waitoa Branch1 March 1886OpenMorrinsvillle JunctionWaitoa10 kmFormerly part of the Thames Branch 1886-1928 & 1978-1991, Part of ECMT 1928-1978.
Thames Branch19 December 18981991Paeroa JunctionThames North33 kmMorrinsvillle-Thames 70 km 1883-1928 & 1978-1991, Paeroa Junction-Thames North 33 km 1928-1978. Lifted beyond Waitoa 1995.
Mount Maunganui Branch16 October 1913OpenTe Maunga JunctionMount Maunganui7.5 kmPortage line for Public Works Dept 1913-1928. Reopened for RNZAF 1942-1946. Reopened by NZR 1955.
Kawerau Branch26 October 1953OpenHawkens JunctionKawerau14 kmIncorporated into ECMT 1978.
Taneatua Branch2 September 1928MothballedHawkens JunctionTaneatua25 kmFormerly eastern end of ECMT until 1978.

Connecting private railways

Junction StationDate OpenedDate ClosedOwnerNotes
Morrinsville1 March 1886OpenThames Valley and Rotorua Railway Co.Purchased by the Government in 1886
Waikino1925Kauri Timber Co.Steam-powered bush tramway to Waitawheta valley
Waikino/Waihi18971952Waihi Gold Mining Company2'9" steam railway between Waikino and Waihi, extensive network in Waihi Borough.
Waihi18991921Waihi Timber CompanySteam powered bush tram to Waimata valley and Mataora Valley
Omokoroa19121947Whakamarama Land & Timber CoSteam powered bush tramway from Omokoroa Point to deep in the Kaimai Ranges.
Edgecumbe19261960sMatahina Tramway IncOwned by several sawmillers including WBM, Matahina Forests Ltd, Kauri Sawmills Ltd.
Awakeri19392002Whakatane Board Mills Ltd / Carter Holt Harvey10 km line, later Whakatane Board Mills Line. Operation taken over by Tranz Rail in 1999. Closed and lifted 2002.