Remarkable Rail

Taieri Gorge in the South Island is included in the Telegraph’s ‘All you need to know about the world’s most remarkable places in 60 seconds’. Taieri Gorge is special because it features one of New Zealand’s most scenic rail trips, a 50-mile journey into majestic mountain scenery that is otherwise almost inaccessible. The line was designed to open up the Crown Lands of the Otago interior, and in particular to serve the goldrush town of Cromwell, 150 miles from Dunedin.  Commercial operations ceased in 1990, but the most scenic part of the line was saved. Over Labour Weekend in October the Taieri Gorge Railway will celebrate 130 years since the commencement of the building of the Otago Central Railway to Cromwell.