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Kapuni Branch
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Kapuni Branch
The Kapuni Branch, formerly known as the Opunake Branch, is a branch railway in North Island, New Zealand. It opened in 1926, and ran 36.4 km across the southern slopes of Mount Taranaki to link the rural town of Ōpunake with the Marton–New Plymouth Line 2 km north of the small rural settlement of Te Roti, equidistant between Eltham and Hāwera. With the decline of rural freight, part of the line was closed in 1976, but the 10.9 km section to Kapuni was retained and upgraded to service traffic to the Kapuni natural gas field.
When the plains of South Taranaki were being laid out, provision had been made for a railway line between Eltham and Ōpunake and a railway reserve set aside in an almost straight line between these centres. However, initial route surveys conducted in 1908 concluded that this reserve was “a little too far to the north to serve the country generally in the most efficient manner” and new surveys were conducted to find a more suitable route across the plains.
The four routes surveyed were:
The route from Te Roti was ultimately chosen as being the most direct and least expensive option. It also took a more central route over the plains, creating a shorter journey for coastal farms to access the railway.
The branch line came about as a result of an election promise at the 1911 New Zealand general election. A branch line of "about 23 miles" to Ōpunake was authorised in 1912 for £400,000 by the Railways Authorization Act 1912, with work commencing in 1914.
Earthworks reached Kapuni by 1916, but progress was slowed by World War I. Work was suspended in December 1917, and recommenced in March 1919. At the peak 200 men were employed on line works, including a large 1.6 km cutting near Waiteika. The Waingongoro Bridge near Te Roti, an unusual (for New Zealand) brick arch bridge, was completed in 1921, and the second bridge in 1923.
The Public Works Department began running goods trains to Kapuni from 1 August 1923, and to Mangawhero Road by December 1924. The Ōpunake terminal was reached on 8 June 1925. On 12 July 1926 the Railways Department took over the line. A construction train was derailed by a cow in March 1925 and the guard was killed and 3 other workers injured. The railway was officially opened by the Prime Minister, Robert Coates, on 27 October 1925.
A 9 km spur from Kapuni to Manaia was built in 1920–24, but track was only laid as far as a ballast pit on the Kaupokonui River, and the section as far as the ballast pit was closed and the track lifted by 1926.
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Kapuni Branch
The Kapuni Branch, formerly known as the Opunake Branch, is a branch railway in North Island, New Zealand. It opened in 1926, and ran 36.4 km across the southern slopes of Mount Taranaki to link the rural town of Ōpunake with the Marton–New Plymouth Line 2 km north of the small rural settlement of Te Roti, equidistant between Eltham and Hāwera. With the decline of rural freight, part of the line was closed in 1976, but the 10.9 km section to Kapuni was retained and upgraded to service traffic to the Kapuni natural gas field.
When the plains of South Taranaki were being laid out, provision had been made for a railway line between Eltham and Ōpunake and a railway reserve set aside in an almost straight line between these centres. However, initial route surveys conducted in 1908 concluded that this reserve was “a little too far to the north to serve the country generally in the most efficient manner” and new surveys were conducted to find a more suitable route across the plains.
The four routes surveyed were:
The route from Te Roti was ultimately chosen as being the most direct and least expensive option. It also took a more central route over the plains, creating a shorter journey for coastal farms to access the railway.
The branch line came about as a result of an election promise at the 1911 New Zealand general election. A branch line of "about 23 miles" to Ōpunake was authorised in 1912 for £400,000 by the Railways Authorization Act 1912, with work commencing in 1914.
Earthworks reached Kapuni by 1916, but progress was slowed by World War I. Work was suspended in December 1917, and recommenced in March 1919. At the peak 200 men were employed on line works, including a large 1.6 km cutting near Waiteika. The Waingongoro Bridge near Te Roti, an unusual (for New Zealand) brick arch bridge, was completed in 1921, and the second bridge in 1923.
The Public Works Department began running goods trains to Kapuni from 1 August 1923, and to Mangawhero Road by December 1924. The Ōpunake terminal was reached on 8 June 1925. On 12 July 1926 the Railways Department took over the line. A construction train was derailed by a cow in March 1925 and the guard was killed and 3 other workers injured. The railway was officially opened by the Prime Minister, Robert Coates, on 27 October 1925.
A 9 km spur from Kapuni to Manaia was built in 1920–24, but track was only laid as far as a ballast pit on the Kaupokonui River, and the section as far as the ballast pit was closed and the track lifted by 1926.