The Auckland bound Northern Explorer approaches Papakura, southern terminal station for Auckland Transport electric unit services. The train was built at Hillside, Dunedin and entered service in 2012. The locomotive started life at GM in Canada, introduced from 1979 and rebuilt with turbo in early 1990's.
Trains on 3' 6" (1.067m) track from Whangarei to Bluff with virtually heritage rebuilt EMD and GE locomotives still the mainstay power. The network was privatized in 1990's and operated by Toll until 2008 when state owned KiwiRail was established.
