31-619: The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line ; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes (see famous trains ). The journey is 223 kilometres (139 mi) one-way, taking almost five hours. There are 16 tunnels and four viaducts, with
62-445: A frequent-flyer program mileage award are usually included. This term is used in the transportation industry, in particular in traffic measures such as revenue passenger kilometer (RPK) and revenue passenger mile (RPM). Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) and revenue passenger miles (RPMs) are measures of traffic for an airline flight, bus , or train calculated by multiplying the number of revenue-paying passengers aboard
93-518: A continuous sheet of glass the length of the carriage, was spectacular and undoubtedly was a major factor in the success of the new service. The other two carriages were red Picton – Greymouth carriages that were refitted and repainted to the same standard but retained their smaller windows and seated 50, same seating arrangement and type as the servery car. Reducing the service to an "out and back" format as opposed to "one each way" freed up carriages for other services, and by refurbishing existing stock it
124-546: A private tourist firm. The original carriage offered enhanced services, including complimentary meals, refreshments and newspapers. However, this second carriage, also named a Connoisseurs' car, and which also offered improved services over those afforded to other TranzAlpine passengers, was transferred to the North Island Main Trunk passenger services by the end of 1991. The train runs daily between Christchurch and Greymouth . After leaving Christchurch,
155-819: The COVID-19 pandemic , but resumed on 14 January 2022. The train was introduced on 22 November 1987 to replace the conventional Christchurch-Greymouth express trains and became one of the New Zealand Railways Corporation 's new tourist-oriented passenger services utilising refurbished rolling stock. Accompanying this new-look train were a new-look livery and rebranding. From late 1982 until 1983, twelve second class NZR 56-foot carriages , three with luggage compartments at one end, were refurbished with new "Supervent" windows, fluorescent strip lights, wall-to-wall carpet, and later still, new seats designed by Addington Workshops were introduced to replace
186-497: The Southerner was not operating it was common to see these carriages bolstering the three hard-pressed TranzAlpine carriages. In 1991, a Southerner power-luggage van had the end module away from the handbrake end converted into an open viewing area for passengers to enhance the already spectacular scenery on the route. Realising this increased public attention, and with the success of air-conditioned panorama carriage trains on
217-584: The Christchurch Press. His consulting was initiated by John Bennett, Canterbury and Westland Branch manager at the time. John Bennett was soon after promoted to Intercity National Manager, perhaps as a result of the work. Initially, the locomotives that were used on the service were DJ class locomotives , and, following the withdrawal of the DJ class in the early 1990s, two DC class locomotives . DF class locomotives were only sporadically used in 1992. As
248-842: The North Island Main Trunk, between August 1994 and April 1995, eight carriages (one a former Southerner then InterCity spare buffet car, one a former Endeavour later Southerner servery car, two from the Northerner , two from the Southerner and two from Auckland suburban services) were extensively overhauled and refitted with panorama windows like the earlier TranzAlpine , TranzCoastal (later Coastal Pacific), pressure-ventilated Bay Express and air-conditioned Northerner / Overlander Express trains and seating 50 (day carriages) and 26 (servery carriages), alcove-style, in new seats like those installed in refitted Wairarapa Connection and North Island Main Trunk carriages. An FM class modular van
279-555: The Staircase Viaduct elevated as much as 75 metres (246 ft). The train has become increasingly popular, and carried 204,000 passengers in the financial year ending 2007. By 2016, passenger numbers were approximately 130,000 a year, but rising again after the setback of the Christchurch earthquake , and were exceeding pre-earthquake levels. The TranzAlpine service was suspended in 2020 and again in 2021 because of
310-460: The carrier act with a certain standard of care. The number of passengers that a vehicle or vessel may legally carry is defined as its seating capacity . A revenue passenger is someone who has paid a transport operator for her or his trip. That excludes non-paying passengers such as airline employees flying on free or nearly-free passes , babies and children who do not have a seat of their own, etc. However, passengers who paid for their trip with
341-406: The driver or pilot of the vehicle, are usually not considered to be passengers. For example, a flight attendant on an airline would not be considered a passenger while on duty and the same with those working in the kitchen or restaurant on board a ship as well as cleaning staff, but an employee riding in a company car being driven by another person would be considered a passenger, even if the car
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#1732779734105372-482: The driver other than the benefit of his or her company or the mere sharing of expenses". In other situations, however, guest statutes may limit the ability of passengers to sue the driver of the vehicle over an accident. Many places require cars to be outfitted with measures specifically for the protection of passengers, such as passenger-side air bags . With respect to passengers on commercial vehicles or vessels, both national laws and international treaties require that
403-503: The eight air-conditioned carriages were introduced in 1994–1995, the train still borrowed panorama carriages from the Southerner because of the train's increasing popularity. As part of the rebranding of the New Zealand Railways Corporation during the 1980s, a new dark blue livery was applied to the TranzAlpine , with a horizontal full-length 220 mm thick white stripe sandwiching a 100 mm thick red band. The name InterCity
434-521: The former articulated diesel-hauled AC class "Grassgrub" carriages. A matching 56-foot van and six 50-foot wooden bogie box wagons for parcels completed the consist. Some of these wagons had served in the same capacity and in the green colour scheme with the Grassgrubs on the Picton and Greymouth routes and one wagon had served the old yellow Northerner as a parcels van, prior to the introduction of
465-666: The non-commute leg of a commuter bus service. In such cases, the main display signs on the front and curbside of the bus typically display a message such as “no pax” or “out of service” (sometimes abbreviated as “O/S”). In British railway parlance, passenger, as well as being the end user of a service, is also a categorisation of the type of rolling stock used. In the British case, there are several categories of passenger train , which include: [REDACTED] Media related to Passengers at Wikimedia Commons Bay Express (train) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
496-401: The overall passenger load factor . These measurements can further be used to measure unit revenues and unit costs. In transportation, a "no pax" trip is a trip without passengers. For example, no-pax flights are Air cargo , ferry and positioning flights. Similarly, with a public transit bus it can be used at the beginning and end of a driver’s work shift to/from the bus terminal, or in
527-405: The power/baggage van. To compensate for luggage on the reformed train, the original TranzAlpine van was stripped of its generator and made to carry luggage only. In 1998, a second van , which was also one of three so fitted as 11 kW power/baggage vans for the original TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific , was equipped with 90kW generator housed in the central module, for this train. Even after
558-528: The servery car. In the early 1990s, the first generation TranzAlpine panorama carriages had a new pressure ventilation system installed, similar to the Bay Express and the observation carriage introduced to this train in 1991. In 1988, the train won a Tourism New Zealand Award and was voted as one of the top 10 "short" train journeys in the world. This was the result of the work of a freelance consulting designer and writer Paul Teague, who also worked at
589-522: The service from Greymouth to Hokitika . Passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle , but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles , buses , cars , passenger trains , airliners , ships , ferryboats , personal watercrafts , all terrain vehicles , snowmobiles , and other methods of transportation. Crew members (if any), as well as
620-473: The size of the old ones, enabling better views of the alpine scenery, reupholstered seats and carpet, and a buffet counter service, to replace refreshment stops at railway station cafeterias at Springfield and Otira . The original intention had been to replace each pair of windows with one larger window, but the final solution was to cut out the side of the carriages and to insert a steel ladder frame to which sheets of strengthened glass were glued. The effect, of
651-444: The train became longer, one or two DX class locomotives were used from December 1992, or sometimes a DC and DX class locomotive each. On 26 November 2012, the new AK class carriages that were built at Hillside Workshops , were introduced on the service replacing the "big-window" AO carriages. Since mid-2013, fire-suppressed DXC locomotives have been assigned to the service. The TranzAlpine' s popularity increased, and on days
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#1732779734105682-836: The train travels through the fertile Canterbury Plains past the Waimakariri River along the Main South Line , to Rolleston . It then turns onto the Midland Line , which passes through the Southern Alps past the spectacular Waimakariri River gorge, via Arthur's Pass and the Otira Tunnel and over the Alpine Fault , terminating in Greymouth, on the West Coast . There are proposals to extend
713-437: The transitional light blue stripe. In early 1991, a former Endeavour car was completely rebuilt as a panorama and rear-view car to replace the (first) Connoisseur carriage, that car refurbished in the standard "big window" InterCity seats and tables carriage format. In a continuous attempt to attract the travelling public back to rail, InterCity expanded on what had begun in 1987, when a Southerner car had been leased to
744-548: The twelve 56-foot carriages. These carriages and wagons, like their Grassgrub predecessors, worked the Picton Express (out and back) and Greymouth or West Coast Expresses (one each way simultaneously). All were painted in a bright red colour scheme. With the deterioration of the yellow Northerner stock, carriages to replace these had to be found by sourcing from the rest of the NZR 56-foot carriage fleet. The change in service
775-458: The vehicle by the distance traveled . On long-distance buses and trains (and some planes), passengers may board and disembark at intermediate stops, in which case RPMs/RPKs have to be calculated for each segment if a careful total is needed. Revenue passenger miles can be considered the basic amount of "production" that an airline creates. The revenue passenger miles can be compared to the available seat miles over an airline's system to determine
806-425: Was being driven on company business. In most jurisdictions, laws have been enacted that dictate the legal obligations of the owner of a vehicle or vessel, or of the driver or pilot of the same, towards the passengers. With respect to passengers riding in cars and vans, the driver may owe a duty of care to passengers, particularly where the passenger's presence in the vehicle can be seen to "confer some benefit on
837-552: Was hoped that the move would draw people to the previously poorly-performing Greymouth passenger trains. The service proved to be popular, with patronage doubling in the first year, with 7,183 passengers in January 1988 alone. Soon, two more Picton – Greymouth carriages were refitted similar to the servery and observation car, so the two small-window carriages could be slotted into the Southerner consists. These new "big window" carriages each sat 51, same seating arrangement and type as
868-466: Was imposed into the stripe as well. This dark blue livery would become standard and remain contemporary until 18 October 1995. In 1990, when New Zealand Rail Limited took over rail operations from the corporation, the InterCity livery was modified to facilitate the new blue and yellow primary colours, and the red band on carriage sides was replaced by a 100 mm yellow one. In 1993–1994 the yellow band
899-496: Was marked, with a refurbished modular FM van turned power-luggage van with handbrake end-mounted 11 kW petrol generator, and three carriages, one from the Endeavour Express and later Southerner Express converted into a servery car seating 31 in reupholstered Addington Workshops -produced seats, in bays of four with two pairs of seats each facing into a table, arranged alcove-style, with windows over double
930-444: Was refitted with a 90kW generator in the central module as opposed to the handbrake end modules on NIMT vans, to facilitate converting one end module into a public open viewing area. In 1995, the viewing van had its second end module converted for public access to match the first end. This was to facilitate its being marshalled into the centre of the new train, which was now re-organised into two four-car trainsets in one, separated by
961-497: Was replaced by a green 100 mm band, the white stripe and dark blue livery retained. In 1995, a new full-length 350 mm light blue stripe, incorporating the Tranz Scenic logo was introduced on carriages that were not painted all over in the new blue colour scheme. However, during the 1995 rebranding, the TranzAlpine carriages were the first long-distance passenger carriages to receive the new paint scheme and did not wear