KiwiRail’s General Manager Passenger Services, Dr Deborah Hume, and Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism’s Business Development Manager, Caroline Blanchfield, joined KiwiRail staff at Addington Station this morning to welcome passengers on board the new carriages.

The new purpose-built scenic carriages feature 52 square metres of glass in panoramic side and roof windows, ceiling mounted HD screens, and GPS triggered commentary in a choice of five languages. They are the first carriages to be entirely designed and built in New Zealand since 1941.

Dr Hume said she was very excited to be introducing the new carriages to passengers, alongside a new menu and new staff uniform.

“We want to ensure a totally unique experience for our passengers. Our focus with these new carriages is on providing a more modern, sophisticated customer experience that people will remember and return to.

“We are also excited about what these new carriages could mean for tourism in Canterbury and Marlborough,” Dr Hume says.

Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism has applauded the initiative as a milestone for South Island tourism.

“It’s a great news story for tourism in our region. The stunning scenery along our coastline is a huge drawcard for visitors and the new stylish carriages and service will ensure the Coastal Pacific’s reputation as one the world’s great train journeys,” Ms Blanchfield says.

A completed set of two new passenger carriages, a café car, a viewing car and refurbished luggage will be in service on the Coastal Pacific for the coming months, before being introduced with extra passenger carriages and another café car on the TranzAlpine next year. The whole fleet (once they’re running on both the Coastal Pacific and the TranzAlpine) will consist of 17 carriages.

“Our passenger services are heading into their busiest season and these changes add up to a fantastic showcase for KiwiRail’s South Island passenger services,” says Dr Hume. ‘

City.Mobi

Also in New Zealand today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Christchurch.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Christchurch.city.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.