| The Tranz Alpine Express is a famous railway line | | | | beautiful places on earth but Greymouth itself has not |
| between Christchurch and Greymouth on the southern | | | | much to offer. The most interesting place to break |
| island of New Zealand. The journey is 223 kilometers | | | | your journey is Arthur's Pass. The Arthur's Pass |
| (139 miles) and takes four and a half hours. | | | | National Park has a lot of impressive scenery and |
| New Zealand has a limited railway network, three main | | | | many interesting hiking paths. |
| passenger lines exist, The Overlander between | | | | The Tranz Alpine Express offers nice views but the |
| Auckland and Wellington, The Transcoastal between | | | | southern island has much better scenery elsewhere. |
| Picton and Christchurch and The Tranz Alpine | | | | Also, the train journey is best done in winter or early |
| between Christchurch and Greymouth. Apart from | | | | spring, that is between June to September. In autumn, |
| these three, only a few shorter tracks exist for | | | | the snow has disappeared and there is not much |
| passenger trains. | | | | water in the rivers or the water falls. Compared with |
| With a population around 350,000 Christchurch is the | | | | the best railway tracks in the Swiss Alps, for example |
| largest town on the southern island. The Tranz Alpine | | | | the Bernina Express, the Tranz Alpine Express falls |
| leaves Christchurch in the morning, arrives in | | | | way short. |
| Greymouth four and half hours later. After an hour the | | | | All in all, the Tranz Alpine Express is a comfortable |
| train returns to Christchurch, arriving in Christchurch just | | | | way of seeing a little bit of New Zealand. The scenery |
| after six o'clock. This is the only train, so you just | | | | is not bad but if you rent a car you will quickly find |
| select your travel day, there are no other departures. | | | | much better scenery, for example the west coast or |
| Most people just take a short stroll in Greymouth and | | | | Mount Cook National Park. Personally, I would say the |
| take the train back to Christchurch, making it a day | | | | Tranz Alpine Express is a train journey you do once, |
| excursion. For most people, one hour in Greymouth is | | | | preferably in winter. |
| more than enough. The west coast is one of the most | | | | |