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Passengers were left waiting in the cold in Greymouth after mechanical problems caused the TranzAlpine scenic train to run three hours late Sunday.
But the problems didn’t end there, with one passenger saying his experience aboard the “Great New Zealand Voyage” didn’t live up to its name.
KiwiRail / Supplied
The TranzAlpine from Greymouth to Christchurch was delayed for three hours due to a mechanical problem.
KiwiRail has apologized to the 200 passengers on board and says it is offering a 50 percent refund of their fares.
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Simms, who is based in Auckland, was leading a group of eight on a tour of the South Island that culminated in the scenic train ride from Greymouth to Christchurch.
The train was supposed to leave Greymouth at 2.05pm, but was delayed due to a mechanical problem affecting the brake system in one of the observation cars.
This car had to be retired and the train cars had to be rearranged, which added to the delay, KiwiRail said.
Simms said he took his group to a pub across the street to wait until he was ready to go.
“A delay is a delay, there is not much you can do about it,” he said.
“But the whole experience was anything but an ‘experience’, it was a nightmare.”
Justine Tyerman / Supplied
TranzAlpine at Greymouth train station.
Simms said that when they got on board, they found that the automated comment was not working and that there was only one coffee car in service.
KiwiRail said comment was unavailable due to technical flaws. The train had two coffee cars and the intention was to operate both, but when they removed the car that had problems with the brakes, it meant they were under a generator and couldn’t power two coffee cars.
But this meant that the wait time for food and drinks was long, with 30 minutes to order beers for the group, Simms said.
“When you’re on a big trip to New Zealand, you don’t expect a big trip to the cafe to just sit back and wait for things.”
He was also not impressed by the limited selection of food.
“Microwave cakes and rolled sandwiches … it was a surprise.”
The train arrived in Christchurch at 9:30 pm, three hours later than planned.
Simms said that some members of his group were supposed to fly that night, but had to cancel their flights due to the delay and had to pay for overnight accommodation.
Another passenger, Debbie Leonard, said that while the trip from Christchurch to Greymouth had gone smoothly, she and her partner were disappointed by the return trip.
Great New Zealand Tours / Supplied
The TranzAlpine crossing the Cass River en route to the west coast.
“This is my fifth trip on that train and I love it,” he said.
“But I’m not going to do it again quickly. My partner was doing it for the first time and will never do it again. “
Leonard, who lives in Timaru, said he had had no choice but to wait in the “icy cold” of Greymouth, as many of the nearby pubs and cafes were already packed with passengers.
What bothered her most was the lack of communication from KiwiRail, she said.
“They told us that the train was approaching the station. We waited, we waited, and we waited and there was nothing, and it took a while before we got another announcement to say they still had to work on it, “he said.
“At one point an ad came out saying they were up to their elbows in fixing things, as passengers and consumers, they don’t need to know that, that’s their problem. I felt like, so what? This is your problem, you need to fix it. “
Both Simms and Leonard said they had found it difficult to contact KiwiRail to share their comments. Simms said that when he called on Monday, they told him to send an email. After two days with no response, he called again and was told to resend the email.
“These guys need to understand what tourism is, not just transporting people from one place to another,” Simms said.
In a statement provided to Stuff, Ahleen Rayner, KiwiRail’s executive managing director of tourism and marketing, apologized for the “unfortunate and unlikely combination of mechanical problems.”
“Typically the trip goes smoothly and we get a lot of feedback from customers who have previously found the trip a highlight of their vacation,” he said.
“The TranzAlpine was delayed for a few hours leaving Greymouth on Sunday afternoon due to a mechanical problem affecting the braking system on one of the observation carriages.
“It was necessary to remove the car to solve the problem. For operational reasons, we had to reorder the train cars, which added to the delay.
“Unfortunately, around 200 passengers were affected, and KiwiRail apologizes to them. We are offering a 50 percent refund of your fees.
“We know that the trips we offer are special and we strive to provide the best possible customer experience.
“However, safety is paramount and we check our trains at Greymouth to ensure we identify and correct any problems before they make the return journey to Christchurch.”
