Te Huia Train - First Day in Service | 06/04/2021

(I have a 2nd video from April 6, which focuses on non-Te Huia rail activity)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzNhOvdMoEg

It's been a long time coming, but Te Huia has finally started public service. I went over to Hamilton on the first day to ride the first service, which was hauled by diesel locomotive DFB 7077.

For those who don't know, Te Huia - named after an extinct native NZ bird - is a passenger train that runs from Hamilton (Frankton) to Papakura. It launched in April 2021 and comprises fours trains a day during the week, with two on selected Saturdays. On weekdays there are two northbound services in the morning and two southbound in the evening.

Motive power for the service is a dedicated trio of DFB locomotives - numbers 7077, 7295 and 7335. The DFBs were originally just DFs, and built by General Motors in 1979 and 1981 (converted to DFTs in 1996 then reclassified as DFB in 2018).

The coaches are heavily-rebuilt ex-British Rail Mk2 stock, which were initially refurbished for Auckland suburban service around 2004 (to become SA coaches or SD cab-cars). More recently - following the electrification of the network - the coaches were stored in Taumarunui, only for 12 of them to be rerefurbished for use on Te Huia. The former SA coaches are now classified as either SR or SRC, while the SD cab-cars were reclassified as SRV.

Видео Te Huia Train - First Day in Service | 06/04/2021 канала The Trainspotter From Tauranga