22 March 2020
“KiwiRail is suspending its three tourist trains as part of the response to COVID-19,” says Group Chief Executive Greg Miller. “Tomorrow’s TranzAlpine, Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific trains have been cancelled and the services will remain suspended until further notice.
“The decision is in line with the Government policy of limiting non-essential travel around New Zealand.
“Given the current circumstances, this is the appropriate thing to do in order to protect our people, passengers and communities from risk. “We are deeply conscious of the impact that the cancellations will have on communities that rely on the business the trains generate.
“However, the safety of our customers, staff and communities must be our top priority.
“Full refunds will be available for impacted customers where we have cancelled services.
“We will support our people through this change. We will look to temporarily redeploy staff where possible and will resume our services as soon as it is practical to do so.
“The Capital Connection service will continue to operate because of the role it plays in public transport. “We are continuing to monitor the fast-evolving situation closely. “These are unprecedented times for our business and for New Zealand as a whole. We thank our customers and the public for their patience during this period of uncertainty.”