Northern Explorer climbs towards the Raurimu Spiral as it ascends the volcanic plateau dominated by Mt Ruapehu (2797m) in the distance. The train takes over 10 hours to cover the 680Km from Auckland to Wellington.
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.