Geyserland's losing steam

It's still fun to travel by train, but the Auckland to Rotorua route - now under threat - has seen better days. ANNE BESTON goes along for the ride.

A bit tired is how an elderly woman passenger describes the Geyserland, as the train threads its way past the wreckers' yards and graffiti-plastered factory walls of light-industrial South Auckland.

She and her husband are travelling by rail from Auckland to visit their daughter in Rotorua because it was cheaper than trying to organise flights from their hometown of Christchurch.

But the seven-page passenger satisfaction questionnaire they dutifully fill out for Tranz Rail is unlikely to be needed.

The Geyserland, running daily from Auckland to the sulphur city, is just one of five passenger services under serious threat.

In a $25 million deal, Melbourne-based West Coast Railway has bought four profitable Tranz Rail lines, but if a buyer isn't found for the others, they will close.

The runs likely to be chopped are the Kaimai Express from Auckland to Tauranga, the Waikato Connection between Auckland and Hamilton, the Bay Express between Napier and Wellington, the Southerner line between Invercargill and Christchurch, and the Geyserland.

While Green Party MPs Sue Kedgley and Rod Donald were scrambling this week to keep some of the services alive, including persuading the Government to stump up with some of the $600,000 a year needed to keep the Southerner going, the Geyserland's prospects are bleak.

Environment Bay of Plenty said yesterday that the service was not economically viable and the regional council would not buy it. Rotorua Mayor Grahame Hall was keeping hopes alive by arranging talks with West Coast Railway this week.

As the rail conservation efforts continue, what exactly might we be losing?

The Geyserland has 22 out of 56 seats taken as it pulls out of Auckland Railway Station, the passengers mostly New Zealanders, with a sprinkling of overseas tourists.

Over the speaker system, a soothing taped voice advises us to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery at the exact moment the train enters the blackest of tunnels.

We'll get used to the taped voice, it bristles with information on everything from the New Zealand Wars to the importance of wetlands throughout the four-hour trip.

But the cheerful tones of the announcer can't hide the general air of dilapidation that hangs over the Geyserland. The windows are so thick with dust on this "Tranz Scenic" route that when the sun shines on them you can't see a thing.

Which for some stretches of the journey is something of a blessing. There are lots of rusting railway engines, wrecked cars and boarded-up train stations to get past before we reach green countryside.

The crew, which includes Fiona Thomas, who has been on the job a year, and her co-worker Rob James, in the job two days, are cheerful and helpful. Neither wants to be out of a job as a result of the sale.

"They told me about it at the interview. It is a bit scary but there's plenty of work on other routes," said 22-year-old Mr James.

From Putaruru to Rotorua, the Geyserland has a free run. It's the only train that uses this part of the track, built in 1894.

"I hope they don't rip it up for scrap," said train driver Terry McQuillan.

But if this journey serves as a reminder that rail is well past its heyday as a passenger service, it wasn't always this way.

The Rotorua Express was once the pride of the New Zealand Railways, a star attraction for Aucklanders travelling to the "thermal wonderland." The service reached its peak in the 1920s when the journey time was reduced from almost nine hours to just over six, but by the 1960s the run was no longer profitable and it closed in 1968. It was relaunched as a scenic route by Tranz Rail in 1991, but has not thrived. While it typically runs around one-third full, the train fills up during school holidays.

Green Party co-leader Rod Donald, one of the movers behind trying to save the threatened services, accuses Tranz Rail of not promoting them. Rotorua taxi driver Ian Henderson agrees.

"It's one of New Zealand's best-kept secrets," he said. "But I guess these days you have to be profitable. Still, it's a shame."

And it is true that the romance of rail isn't entirely dead. The comforting ka-thump, ka-thump of a long-distance train ride lets you see things you wouldn't from the road. There are no lawless motorists to contend with, no fear the wings will drop off and the whole thing plummet from the air.

"I'm a bit of a train man - used to work for the railways," said 35-year-old Auckland storeman Philip Blair, who's travelling on the Geyserland to the New Zealand Maori versus Argentina rugby game.

"The food could be better, the coffee could be better, but it's a great way to travel."