Greymouth railway station

Greymouth
Greymouth station in 2011
General information
Location	Mackay Street, Greymouth, New Zealand
Coordinates	42°26′54″S 171°12′52″E
Owned by	KiwiRail
Operated by	The Great Journeys of New Zealand
Line(s)	Midland Line
Platforms	Single side
Tracks	Main line (1)
Construction
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	1876
Rebuilt	1897
Services
Preceding station Great Journeys New Zealand Following station Moana towards Christchurch TranzAlpine Terminus
Heritage New Zealand – Category 1
Designated	28 June 1990
Reference no.	3039

Greymouth railway station serves the town of Greymouth, on the West Coast of New Zealand. It is the northwestern terminus of the Midland Line.

Location

The station is on Mackay Street, at the eastern end of the Greymouth town centre.^[1] It is at the northwestern end of the Midland Line, where it meets the Hokitika Line.

History

Greymouth Station in the early 1900s

The first station in Greymouth was opened in 1876, as the terminus of a railway between Greymouth and the coalmine at Brunner.^[1][2] As the railway system of the West Coast grew, the station in Greymouth became the centre of the region's railway network, and was of particular importance to goods traffic from the region's primary industries as it served the main port in the area. As such, the station became unsuitable for the amount of traffic it was handling, and it was rebuilt in the mid-1890s, with the new station opening in 1897.^[1] Despite the rebuild, the station was still considered inadequate, and extra facilities were added at the station several times in the early 1900s.^[1][3] After the Otira Tunnel opened linking the West Coast and Canterbury in 1923, passenger traffic further increased with the introduction of services to Christchurch; a footbridge was erected to handle the increased usage.^[4] During the later part of the 20th century, traffic declined significantly, as both passengers and freight shifted to road transport.^[1] The station was modernised in 1998, and several outbuildings were removed.^[3]

The station is listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I Historic Place. This is due to its architectural quality as a relatively unaltered example of a second-class New Zealand railway station, and its historical significance as a former centre of the regional rail network.^[3]

Services

The station is currently served by the TranzAlpine, which runs daily between Greymouth and Christchurch, and is operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand, KiwiRail's scenic division.^[5]

References

1. "Greymouth Station". Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
2. Scoble, Juliet (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
3. "Greymouth Railway Station". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
4. "Greymouth Railway Station Footbridge [Relocated]". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
5. "Greymouth". The Great Journeys of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 May 2022.