Introduction of the Bay Express

 

In 1989 the introduction Bay Express completed the series of upgrades of long-distance passenger rail services under the Intercity brand, following the one-off bulk funding of the Railways Corporation to place the long-distance passenger services on a sustainable footing after the ending of the Social Services subsidies programme that had operated from 1982 until 1987.  The Bay Express saw the introduction of new more comfortable seating, pressure ventilation (not air conditioning, but it enabled the end of opening windows to cut noise and dust), large panoramic windows and crucially, on board catering at a commercially sustainable scale (with a buffet bar to purchase snacks, meals and drinks to take back to one's seat). It also included a panorama car at the rear to essentially sit and lounge viewing the scenery.

The Tranz Alpine and Coastal Pacific trains had already significantly upgraded the Christchurch-Greymouth and Christchurch-Picton services successfully, with the Southerner refurbished (albeit with higher density seating) to make it commercially viable (as the original Southerner had rarely been so, as the 30 seats per car low density old first class seating simply meant not enough seats could be sold at the fares offered to cover operating costs). 

The Bay Express marked the removal of the last long-distance passenger train that did not have on-board catering, and was dependent on a refreshment stop (at Palmerston North). The aim was to recapture some of the atmosphere of the former Endeavour service which operated from 1972 until 1981, when it was reallocated to the daytime North Island Main Trunk service as a stopgap, following the fatal Waiouru Silver Fern crash.

 

Below is a series of articles on 10 December 1989 reporting on the service commencing the next day. Unfortunately, the Bay Express suffered a decline in patronage from the late 1990s, as domestic airfares became progressively cheaper in real terms, and following the cut in private car prices due to the removal of protection of the local car assembly industry (which reportedly saw the cost of new cars drop on average around $5,000 at the time, cascading the cost of used cars significantly). It was cancelled in 2001 with the last service operating on 7 October (and I did happen to ride it that day!). 

The Evening Post below reported that it cost $350,000 to refurbish three carriages (56ft cars dating from 1937-1945) for the service with new larger windows, sheepskin covered seats and a full bar and buffet meal service (meals available to be taken back to passengers seats).  It was noted that patronage on the Tranz Alpine had increased 50% with the upgraded service. The report also noted the Railways Corporation had introduced computerised reservations for rail and coach services.

The clipping below also from the Evening Post pictured the refurbishing of the panorama car at the Addington Railway Workshops in Christchurch. This ended up being one of the last major pieces of work undertaken at Addington, as it ended up being the second of the major railway workshops closing (following East Town in Whanganui) in 1990 (as it was thought the South Island could not justify having two workshops). 

On 9 December, the Evening Post ran an advertising feature highlighting the train with a series of articles below.

This first article focuses on the work done to refit the carriages, noting that the buffet/panorama car has 24 seats, with food described as including:  "scones served with strawberry cream, lamburgers with stuffed potato and coleslaw, and cold roast chicken and vegetables. Tea and coffee served with all meals, with a fruit salad and New Zealand cheese selection available". The pressure ventilation system is described noting it would change the air in each car once every minute. 

This article noted the construction of the line in the 19th century, noting that although the private Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company had built a line from Longburn to Wellington in 1886, the line in Hawke's Bay went from Napier to Woodville by 1887, with the Manawatu Gorge line opening in 1891. It was noted that the rail journey then took 11 hours as passengers had to change trains twice until in 1897 the Government Railways had built the Wairarapa line from Wellington, albeit over the Rimutaka Incline removing the change of trains, but adding an hour for crossing the Remutakas.  After the Government purchase of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, services were redirected through the Manawatu.

The Dominion's feature contained similar content, such as this article noting the service commencing on Monday 11th

This accompanying article with a photo of Fiat 88-seat articulated railcars passing at Opapa in the 1960s adds history about the service beyond the article above. It notes that in 1939 the introduction of Standard Railcars on some services cut journey times to five hours and 23 minutes, as the steam expresses were taking seven hours 32 minutes (no doubt in part due to the need to replenish water regularly, as well as the faster performance of the railcars).  The articulated railcars (pictured below) operated the route from 1955 until 1972 (when the unreliability of the railcars was putting pressure on the fleet), when the Endeavour train was introduced, much in the style of the Southerner, with a full service buffet car, with restaurant style meal service, and all cars being ex. first class cars offering a low density 1-2 configuration. 

The Endeavour's problem was that during off-peak periods patronage was low and the buffet car was costly and little utilised, so the buffet car was withdrawn in 1981, returning refreshment stops at Palmerston North, but the whole train was removed later than year to replace a Silver Fern set. From then until 1989, the Wellington-Napier service had become the Wellington-Gisborne express.  The Wellington Gisborne express had had three different sets of rolling stock after withdrawal of the Endeavour, with initially ex. second class 56ft cars (with uncomfortable hard vinyl bench seats), followed by Ac class cars in 1982, subsequently replaced by refurbished 56ft cars with a low-cost but acceptable basic seating configuration from 1984.  The damage to the Napier-Gisborne line due to Cyclone Bola, saw the Napier-Gisborne leg of the train curtailed and never replaced, as patronage was low, and removing it enabled the service to be operated by one train set operating return a day instead of two.  The Bay Express was to follow in 1989, giving the route a boost.

The advert at the top of this page is replicated larger below for reading, and appeared in both the Dominion and Evening Posts across two pages:

In 1990, this ad appeared in a free advertising paper distributed in Wellington, promoting the train, with an image of it on the Paremata railway bridge, noting the on-board service and coach connections to Gisborne.