Railway electrification in New Zealand Railway electrification in New Zealand Railway electrification was initially adopted by the New Zealand Railways in New Zealand for long tunnels; the Otira Tunnel, the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel and the two Tawa Tunnels of the Tawa Flat Deviation. Electrification of Wellington suburban services started with the Johnsonville Line and Kapiti Line out of Wellington from the 1930s. Auckland suburban services were electrified in 2014–15. Electrification of long distance services on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) dates from 1986, although KiwiRail is now considering diesel operation of the NIMT. New long tunnels e.g. the Rimutaka Tunnel and the Kaimai Tunnel
Rimutaka Incline railway accident to push it up the steep 1 in 15 ascent to the summit of the Rimutaka Incline. At Cross Creek the two passenger cars and the luggage carriage were put in front of the engine. Then behind this were two wagons of timber and lastly the Fell brake van. All went well until the train reached an area of the incline known as Siberia. A strong north-west wind was blowing across the track. A terrific gust hit the three leading carriages, which were blown off the railway line. The body of the first carriage was torn from its mountings and