northern explorer train

We made a day trip out of it and took the Northern Explorer instead of flying between Wellington and Auckland. I loved it, especially the viewing car. I stood out there for hours just watching. We had lovely weather as well so of course that's a bonus! Overall a very pleasant journey! If anything though it's a bit expensive, but I paid willingly!

Wow!. Splendid way to spend the day. We travelled from Auckland to Wellington on a marvelous sunny day and spent a lot of time in the Open Air Car with the wind in our hair. Good staff, on time, well maintained coaches. Simply a delightful experience.

Here is a copy of my response to a survey sent to me three days after I completed a trip on 27 February 2015. from Wellington to Auckland. It also serves as my reviewDear Northern ExplorerI am viewing a photo of the spot I spent two hours and fifty minutes sitting at, admiring the "iconic, ever changing journey through the heart of the North Island, bringing me a diverse range of scenery in one day." Its some very high grass.At best the crew who relayed the sporadic messages about the ongoing delay caused by a freight train incident were at best misled, and at worst lied to. The fact that is that no concrete plan B to deal with a delay of this matter is plainly systematic negligence!We were already 35 minutes late at this spot, somewhere past National Park, and then consistently misinformed.Having travelled most of the great rail journeys of the world, I can tell you that the standards you lay out display an appalling lack of concern for passenger care and recompense for service undelivered. Even the first question on this survey gave me no option to answer, so I lied to get this far.I am also stunned that the crew had no knowledge of how passengers can make a formal complaint Cousi Bro!Firstly we were told another engine was on its way from in front of us. One hour maximum delay. That plan was cancelled and the engine on the train was disconnected, a maximum of another hour delay. This disconnection resulted in a futile action, with the outcome for a request to minimise toilet usage, because they would overflow as the engine powered the toilet flushing.Then we went to another plan with another one hour maximum delay, for a train to come from behind us to move the freight train.This timeline was extended twice.In the US, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia there are clear refund policies for significant delays of this type, and the only information gained from your brave crew was "sorry" as we forked out more money for sustenance for food and drink, and wait in line whilst Kiwi Rail fills its coffers.After three and half hours, the freight train blockage was solved, no doubt by hard work of a few, and after problematic guess work, as opposed to trained response, and we were assured that our estimated arrival time would be 10.20pm in Auckland. At 6.00 pm I was offered a free glass of warm water. However they ran out of plastic cups so I held onto mine in case I had to urinate in it!At best the train will arrive in Auckland three and half hours late, thats 50% more time than the anticipated journey.Whilst I place no blame on the crew, who diligently clear the increasing amount of food packaging from the burgeoning trade in the middle carriage, whilst continuing to charge for tea and coffee, I am bewildered how you can claim, "the best way to experience our stunning scenery", and not refund a minimum of 50% of the fare passengers have paid, let alone the additional amount spent at the dining car.I would have tried www.whogivesacrapkiwirail.com, but your brochures and websites do not list a complaint procedure.No one is looked at the "must do experience" because, they were over this trip. Not one person in the cabin had head sets on, because like me they cannot be bothered looking at that map on a screen, that could even show a bloody movie whilst we waited for 210 minutes. Especially as the last two and half hours was in total darkness!As for a responsible tourism vision, I suggest you add to this statement. Kiwi Scenic will provide our passengers with a safe, comfortable and enjoyable journey. If this is not the case due to passenger discomfort, or unhappiness due to matters out of their control, customers may apply for a refund, and all matters will be considered on the merits of the circumstances that existed at the time.We were again reassured when we pulled into Hamilton we would arrive in Auckland At 10.20pm, as the train left the five crew told us that as they had "busted their hours" they had to get off the train at some obscure station and be replaced by two people. These two immediately informed us that we would arrive in Auckland, if we were lucky before 11.00 pm as there were a lot of trains about.We were lucky, we arrived at 10.55 pm. The debacle of getting passenger luggage, with no organisation, statements to men and women in their 70's trying to retrieve their luggage, of security being called, from an imbecile determined that everything would be unloaded before anyone could claim their luggage is also too much. Why have tags with numbers?Furthermore, any other organisation worried about its brand would have had a senior custom service representative offering an open apology. No one had alerted taxi companies that the train was late, resulted in one taxi being available for the entire train of people trying to get to Hotels in a City many have never previously visited.The whole trip was a disgrace. Why book on line, or by phone, pay and not be allocated a seat on the email response. Then get on the train, sit in the seat, and have that act as the ticket. No not Kiwi Rail, instead stand in a queue for 25 minutes minimum with one window open, to get a ticket you pre purchased, sit in your seat, and have the stub of the ticket collected by the same person who gave it to you, 300 metres after the train pulled out. Thats moronic!There has been no response to the above statements, even though it stated,"would you like us to contact you."So if things go wrong, do not expect any sympathy or financial recompense. Please note I gave the scenery I saw the three.

We traveled from Wellington back to Auckland, although we have done the journey several times by car, it is hard to appreciate the countryside whilst driving. Considering the journey was about 11 hours long it went past so quick. The train was very busy, there is plenty of space to move around and the cafe carriage to get your refreshments. The food was good, and a fairly nice looking small selection of sandwiches and a few ready to microwaveable meals which the friendly staff brought to your seat with coffee's etc.I enjoyed seeing the volcanoes from a different angle from the outdoor viewing carriage which was a great place to take photographs and let the wind blow through your hair.Travelling through the countryside did have a very minor downside that in some areas the cell coverage was zero, which is great and peaceful. The staff did mind mind running up a tab and settling once the EFTPOS was in range.Sit back and enjoy God's own country as it should be seen..

We've been on all the Kiwirail tourist trains and have always loved them. So had no qualms about booking to re-do the Northern Explorer from Auckland to Wellington. The train and scenery are, as always, lovely. But two things disappointed. 1. We have always rated the refreshments on the trains for freshness & value. But a change to the Wishbone range is not for the best. Mass produced, tasteless & expensive. Never mind, we thought. We'll get something at the National Park lunch stop.2. You only stop at National Park for 5 minutes now and not the hour like you used to. Disappointing as it's a good midway point to stretch the legs.So my recommendation is to avoid the outboard refreshments now and take a packed lunch.

This is a fantastic opportunity to see some of New Zealand that you miss when driving. A very nice train, with an open air viewing carriage. Food and drink in the cafe is a bit naff. One major problem is the booking system on the website. We wanted to book the train and Chateau package. Whichever dates we selected, there was no availability. As this was for a special occasion I made some more effort and booked each separately. You need much better integration between the two booking systems!

We boarded the train at Britomart in Auckland. The staff were very welcoming and our seats were very easy to find. We were very lucky to have a lovely summer day and spent time during the journey in the observation car seeing parts of the north island we had not seen before. The cafe food was good and the prices average for cafes in New Zealand. It is a long day, 11 hours, but well worth it. We would highly recommend this trip.

I love long train journeys and thought this would be one of the major highlights of our North Island trip. We caught the NE at the Britomart, Auckland. Checking in was straightforward. It left a minute early and this gave us high hopes of an efficient service. Unfortunately, heat restrictions on the line and a misplaced suitcase meant that we were eventually running an hour behind schedule. As the train already takes around 11 hours, and has numerous stops, this wasn't welcome news. In addition, the air conditioning broke, in our car and made for an uncomfortable journey. No-one thought to offer us a complimentary cold drink, or ice cream, and this would have been a nice touch. It was a long, hot day. The staff were friendly, the rubbish was frequently collected, the legroom is phenomenal. There are some great views, along the way, but not as many as you would expect, surprisingly. There is only one viewing car and, as soon as an upcoming view was announced, it was packed out with people hogging the limited space. I would definitely fly from Auckland to Wellington next time.

A wonderful journey although not so good on a rainy day.The journey was long but well worth it. The food was a tad expensive and because it was so cold everyone was hungry and we ran out of food.

We set off from Britomart Auckland. Staying at the Mecure on Customs Street. 2 min walk to Rail Station.As a group of four, we had seating with a table in the middle.Earphones with a commentary of the history of what we were passing through.Viewing car for the open air smells/photos. Perfect and safe for all ages.Cafe provided lovely food. Views of Central North Island Viaducts, tunnels, rail spirals, old prisons, mountains, settlements, land and farming diversity, all captured in this rail trip.Finishing our 10 hour trip in Wellington, to which you enjoy the seaside just a stones throw away.

We thought it would be much more fun to take the train, rather than drive from Auckland to Wellington, and we were right. Some amazing views- especially of Mt Ngarahoe and Mt Ruapehu, and the Raurimu spiral really is a feat of engineering. Great open air viewing car, and friendly staff. Nice enough selection of food, although anything decent ran out very quickly so there wasn't much choice for lunch or later. What was a huge disappointment was the commentary. I was very much looking forward to listening to it, but it was interrupted constantly by announcements at each station. That wouldn't be so bad if the commentary paused and continued after the announcements were finished, but it appeared to just be muted, occasionally bursting back in one or two words in between announcement sentences. Missed so much of what could have been interesting and informative, that I gave up after a few hours, making the trip more about transport than an experience. Also confused with the emphasis placed on the luggage tags upon check-in, as it's a complete free-for-all once you get to Wellington, with no order, people pushing through the crowd to get to the bags and no security whatsoever. A bit unsettling, and made the luggage tags we'd kept hold of for the trip pointless.

We took the Northern Explorer from Wellington to Hamilton, as part of a bigger tour of North Island. It's a great ride, taking in some lovely coastal scenery at the start, then running through Tongariro National Park, where there are some great views of the volcanoes there. Seats are comfortable, with wide picture windows and the open observation coach at the back of the train allows you to enjoy the views even more. Table seats are an advantage, probably easier to get if your group is three or more. We were pleasantly surprised at the on board catering, some decent food and wine available from the buffet at pretty reasonable prices. Staff were helpful and communication during the voyage was good. Commentary on the route is available through headphones, although we felt it would have been helpful to have had a printed route guide/ timetable as well. The train can be susceptible to delays and ours was no exception, arriving about an hour late into Hamilton, but did not spoil our enjoyment of a great trip.

The views are for the most part amazing and the hours certainly passed quickly enough. Carriages are comfortable, although on a sunny day the air condition proved to be inadequate. However, you can cool off nicely on the open air carriage at the rear of the train. A number of annoyances spoil the overall experience.Firstly, if you are booking from overseas be mindful that you will pay much more for a ticket. Book online within New Zealand costs $99 those from Australia $199 for the same ticket! You cannot stipulate group seating, so if travelling together you run the risk of being separated. Seats are not selectable, so you'll only find out once on board if you have suitable arrangements for the journey.Tickets have to be collected from a single window at Wellington Station, so expect a wait, a very long wait! Total chaos as commuters struggle through the queue which snaked through the ticket hall and out of the front doors. The food onboard was good qualify, but be mindful it's only microwave ready meals, calling it a cafe or restaurant is stretching it. Prices are very reasonable. Please be mindful that only bottled water is available on the train, no drinking fountains and using water from the bathrooms is strictly prohibited. Extremely disappointing, no water available on such a long journey. They even print their Enviro Award Silver on the side of the bottled water.... Bottled water! You can't get much environmentally unfriendly! Excellent idea, but need some serious improvements to make it a world class tourist attraction.

The newish carriages are very comfortable , the scenery excellent ,the food is good and the staff are top drawer.

Brilliant food and service! loved the lamb shank meal - all meals by Wishbone, so very flavoursome. The service couldn't be faulted...very helpful and friendly crew.