Train 125 from Whangarei crests the 2% grade from New Lynn to Avondale in Auckland's western suburbs. Distant Waitakere Ranges parkland has over 100 hiking trails.
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.