Kaimai Express

The Kaimai Express long-distance passenger train was operated by Tranz Rail under the Tranz Scenic brand (originally by New Zealand Rail Limited under the InterCity Rail brand) between the North Island cities of Auckland and Tauranga via Hamilton. It used the Silver Fern railcars and operated from 9 December 1991 until 7 October 2001.
Background
In 1928, when the East Coast Main Trunk Railway was completed to Taneatua, a passenger train commenced operating from Auckland on a slow (12-hour) schedule. Within a year this was upgraded to 10.5 hours and named the Taneatua Express. For much of its life, it ran only twice or thrice weekly.
In 1959 the express was replaced by a daily railcar service using 88 seater railcars: due to negligible traffic to Taneatua, it terminated at Te Puke. It did not last long, as the circuitous rail route struggled to compete with private cars, being withdrawn from 11 September 1967.
In 1980 Tauranga radio station...