The TranzAlpine carries tourists from Christchurch across the Canterbury Plains, along gorges and river valleys, through 16 tunnels, over five viaducts and down to rainforest, arriving in Greymouth on the West Coast after a four-and-a-half hour journey.

Passengers yesterday celebrated with a birthday cake, before being greeted by the Greymouth High School kapa haka group and the Kokatahi Band.

Alison Parkin and her daughter, Alexandra Parkin, 11, from Adelaide, were among 300 passengers.

Alison Parkin said the trip had lived up to all the great things she had heard.

"It was just excellent, really good."

The group general manager for Toll NZ passenger rail, Ross Hayward, said the route was the toughest of New Zealand's rail journeys.

Crossing the alps was tough going for trains and drivers, especially in heavy winter rain and snow.

He described the track as "quite tortuous.

At up to 15 cars, the TranzAlpine is Toll NZ's longest passenger train.

TranzAlpine passenger numbers have rocketed from 25,000 a year when it started, to over 200,000 in the past year.

The service recently carried 7000 passengers in a week.

Many passengers only stay in Greymouth for the 45 minutes the train is in town before heading back to Christchurch.

While the journey was sold as a day trip, Hayward said the real value for passengers was travelling to the Coast and continuing their holiday.

Greymouth I-site Visitor Centre manager Debbie Collings said the train was an essential service for the West Coast.

"It is an integral service for Grey and the rest of the West Coast. It's a good feeder to get people to the Coast because it's rated one of the top train journeys in the world."

Grey Mayor Tony Kokshoorn said the journey put Greymouth on the map.

Greymouth Business and Promotions chairwoman Frances Plester said that although few tourists stayed, the journey gave many a taste of the Coast. They would come back as independent travellers.



SOURCE: Sandra Cox - The Press