Extension to Opotiki and Gisborne

Some construction work was carried out beyond Tāneatua towards Opotiki in 1928, and an opening ceremony was held for the new line (the ECMT) in Tauranga on 28 March 1928.^[4][5][6][7] When the Minister of Public Works Bob Semple turned the first sod for building the Paeroa–Pokeno Line on 28 January 1938, it was said that the proposed 47 km (29 mi) line would shorten the distance from Auckland to towns on the ECMT by nearly 80 km (50 mi).^{[8][9][10][11]} Work was stopped in July 1928 when the Government of the day transferred the construction workers to the Rotorua-Taupo line which it had just approved the construction of. As late as 1939 £45,000 was provided for extension from Taneatua to Opotiki.^[12]

Various routes were investigated and surveyed to link the difficult section between Tāneatua and Moutohora, but all were found to be difficult and expensive. Following the Great Depression, the Second World War and the greater availability of road vehicles in the period after the war, the proposal was dropped and Tāneatua remained the eastern terminus of the railway line in the Bay of Plenty. Gisborne was subsequently linked to the south with Wellington by way of Napier and Palmerston North with the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line in 1942. The isolated Gisborne Section line became the Moutohora Branch line, which closed in 1959.^[3]

Extension to Whakatane

NZR proposed extending the branch to Whakatane from the Whakatane West railway station to a new terminus across the Whakatane River. The proposal never eventuated.^[13]

Passenger service

A passenger service was provided on the line with the Taneatua Express from Auckland between 1928 and 1959.^[3] In 1959 railcars replaced this service, but they only operated between Auckland and Te Puke, due to negligible passenger traffic between Te Puke and Tāneatua.^[14]

Renaming

With the opening of the Kaimai tunnel in 1978, the terminus of the East Coast Main Trunk line was changed to Kawerau and the section of line between Hawkens Junction and Tāneatua became the Tāneatua Branch line.^[15]

Board Mills Line

The Whakatane Board Mills Line, a private line, was built and operated by the Whakatane Board Mills (WBM) from Awakeri to their mill in 1937 to serve their large operation. It was proposed that NZR would take over the line once it was completed, but despite several attempts to reach an agreement between the two parties, the line remained in WBM ownership.^[13]

This line was privately operated by the mill until 1999 when the then-national rail operator Tranz Rail took over the operation of the line. Tranz Rail discontinued operating the line in 2001.^[16] The line was closed in 2003, together with the mothballing of the entire Tāneatua Branch line.

Citations

Bibliography