Climbing trees for the shot at Arthur's Pass... The Tranz Alpine Express passenger train - daily between Christchurch and Greymouth, New Zealand on the South Island - is seen entering the Otira Tunnel at Arthur's Pass, NZ, complete with quartet of GE U26C helpers. The helpers are added on either side of the mountain to insure the train does not stall inside the 5.3 mile tunnel.
Trains on 3' 6" (1.067m) track from Whangarei to Bluff with virtually heritage rebuilt EMD and GE locomotives still the mainstay power. The network was privatized in 1990's and operated by Toll until 2008 when state owned KiwiRail was established.
