Kingston Branch

Kingston Branch
Kingston Branch
	Invercargill railway station in the 1860s with the wooden rails used on the line to Makarewa until 1867
Overview
Status	Closed (Makarewa to Fairlight)
Owner	Railways Department
Locale	Southland, New Zealand
Coordinates	45°22′03″S 168°40′34″E / 45.3676°S 168.6761°E
Termini	Invercargill; Kingston;
Stations	34 (total); 2 (operational)
Service
Type	regional rail
System	New Zealand Government Railways
Operator(s)	Railways Department; KiwiRail (Invercargill to Makarewa); The Kingston Flyer (Fairlight to Kingston)
History
Opened	18 October 1864 (Invercargill to Makarewa); 22 February 1871 (Makarewa to Winton); 1875 (Winton to Lumsden); 10 July 1878 (Lumsden to Kingston)
Closed	25 November 1979 (Mararoa Junction to Fairlight); 13 December 1982 (Makarewa to Mararoa)
Technical
Line length	139.92 km (86.94 mi)
Number of tracks	single
Character	Secondary Main Line
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (until 20 December 1875); 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) (20 December 1875 to present)

Kingston Branch

Legend

				km
					South Island Main Trunk
					Bluff Branch
				0	Invercargill
				↓	Kingston Branch
				3	Grasmere
				4	Waikiwi
				7	Lorneville
				10	Linds Bridge
				12	Makarewa
				12	Ohai Branch
				15	Ryal Bush
				18	Wilson's Crossing
				23	Lochiel
				26	Thomsons
				29	Gap Road
				30	Winton
				30	Hedgehope Branch
				35	Lady Barkly
				37	Limehills
				39	Ords
				41	Centre Bush
				45	Pukearuhe
				46	Kauana
				51	Benmore
				58	Dipton
				66	Caroline
				72	Josephville
				78	Waimea Plains Railway
				79	Lumsden
				80	Mossburn Branch
				89	Lowther
				93	Five Rivers
				98	Eyre Creek
				105	Parawa
				110	Athol
				118	Nokomai
				120	Garston
				126	Fairlight
				140	Kingston

Map

The Kingston Branch was a major railway line in Southland, New Zealand. It formed part of New Zealand's national rail network for over a century: construction began in 1864, Kingston was reached in 1878, and it closed in 1979. For much of its life, it was considered a secondary main line rather than a branch line, and in its earlier years, it was sometimes known as the "Great Northern Railway". The southern portion now forms a part of the Wairio Branch, while the northernmost 14 kilometres (8+3⁄4 mi) was used by the Kingston Flyer.