Northern Explorer heads north through Manakau (between Otaki and Levin.) The train will take over 10 hours to reach Auckland. The award winning train was built by Hillside Workshops Dunedin and started running in June 2012.
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.